******* 


//r  /O. 


0t  tftf  0li*o%ia/  g 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


Division 


J 


Section 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


“ The  good  man  is  he  who  does  not  lose 
his  child-heart.” — Mencius,  371-288  b.c. 


“ What  the  leaves  are  to  the  forest, 

With  light  and  air  for  food, 

Ere  their  sweet  and  tender  juices 
Have  been  hardened  into  wood, 

That  to  the  world  are  children  ; 

Through  them  it  feels  the  glow 
Of  a brighter  and  sunnier  climate 
Than  reaches  the  trunks  below. 

Come  to  me,  O ye  children  ! 

And  whisper  in  my  ear 
What  the  birds  and  the  winds  are  singing 
In  your  sunny  atmosphere. 

• •!••• 

Ye  are  better  than  all  the  ballads 
That  ever  were  sung  or  said  ; 

For  ye  are  living  poems, 

And  all  the  rest  are  dead.” 

Longfellow. 


TURNBULL,  AND  SPEARS 


PRINTERS,  EDINBURGH. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/childrenofchina00brow_0 


THE  EMI’EROR  OF  CHINA 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


1 


BY 


COLIN  CAMPBELL  BROWN 


AUTHOR  OF 

s 


FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK  CHICAGO  TORONTO 


TO 


ROBIN,  MARGERY  AND  HUGH 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTER 


My  dear  Boys  and  Girls, 

There  is  a nook  among  the  hills 
in  far-away  China  to  which,  if  only  I possessed 
the  famous  flying  carpet,  I should  very  much  like 
to  carry  you.  To  know  it  properly  one  ought  to 
find  it  for  oneself  upon  a day  in  spring.  The  road 
to  it  runs  at  the  foot  of  steep  hills,  on  which  the  grey 
earth  peeps  through  a threadbare  carpet  of  dry  grasses. 

Above  these  lower  hills  the  mountain-sides  are 
green,  shading  into  slate-colour  and  black ; and  when  the 
sky  clouds  over,  they  look  dark  and  angry.  The  road 
rounds  a comer  and  passes  a wood : a few  more  steps 
and  the  baby  valley  is  in  sight. 

To  leave  the  path  and  pick  your  way  through  some 
trees  is  the  work  of  a moment.  You  reach  an  open 
space  like  a little  lawn.  Above  the  lawn  is  a bank,  on 
which,  among  shrubs  and  scattered  trees,  many 
flowers  are  growing. 

A faint  scent  of  almonds  breathes  in  the  air.  You 
feast  your  eyes  on  great  wild  roses  and  azaleas,  rose- 
coloured,  magenta,  crimson — bushes  of  red  fire  burning 
among  ferns  and  green  branches.  Here,  you  notice 
tufted  flowers  like  feathers  carved  in  ivory;  there, 


6 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 

white  jasmine,  clematis  and  plants  whose  shining 
leaves  are  nearly  covered  by  balls  of  snow.  Over  the 
flowers  and  under  the  tree-tops  great  swallow-tailed 
butterflies  go  whirling  by.  It  is  as  if  one  of  the  old  men 
of  the  hills  of  whom  Chinese  stories  tell,  had  opened  a 
doorway  in  the  mountain-side  and  led  you  into  a sweet 
wild  garden  of  fairyland. 

The  daily  round  of  life  in  China  is  bare  enough, 
like  a worn  road  winding  among  hills;  but  when  one 
comes  to  know  the  children  of  the  country,  it  is  like 
finding  a surprise  garden  where  one  had  only  looked  for 
rocks  and  boulders.  The  love  of  boys  and  girls,  and 
the  tenderness  and  self-denial  which  they  call  forth 
among  older  people,  are  the  flowers  that  grow  in  this 
enchanted  spot. 

The  flying  carpet  was  lost  long  ago,  when  this  old 
world  forgot  how  to  be  young,  but  you  boys  and  girls 
sometimes  weave  one  for  yourselves  and  fly  off  as  far 
as  Pekin  or  Peru.  It  is  my  hope  in  these  pages  to 
join  some  of  you  in  this  pleasant  task  and  carry  you  to 
some  of  the  far-off  garden  nooks  of  China. 

The  Chinese  by  Sir  John  F.  Davies,  Child  Life  in 
Chinese  Homes , by  Mrs  Bryson,  and  Chinese  Slave  Girls, 
by  Miss  M.  E.  Talmage,  are  books  which  have  helped  me 
to  write  about  the  children  of  China.  I am  sure  they 
will  interest  you  by  and  by  whenever  you  can  find  time 
to  read  them.  But  the  big  Chinese  city  in  which  I live, 
and  the  hundreds  of  villages  round  it,  help  me  most  of 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTER 


7 


all  to  tell  you  about  China  and  its  boys  and  girls,  and  I 
greatly  hope  that  one  day  some  of  you  may  come  and 
see  them  for  yourselves. 

I am, 

Your  sincere  friend, 

C.  Campbell  Brown. 

Chinchew,  1909. 


■ 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Introductory  Letter  ....  5 

I The  Invisible  Top  . . . . .11 

II  Chinese  Babies  .....  14 

III  The  Children’s  Home  . . . .18 

IV  School  Days  ......  23 

V Girls  .......  3° 

VI  Games  and  Riddles  . . . -37 

VII  Stories  and  Rimes  .....  42 

VIII  Religion  ......  52 

IX  Festivals  ......  58 

X Superstitions  .....  63 

XI  Reverence  for  Parents  . . . -73 

XII  Faithfulness  . . . . .76 

XIII  The  Cry  of  the  Children  . . .80 

XIV  Ministering  Children  . . . .87 

XV  The  Children’s  King  . . . -94 


9 

/ 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Emperor  of  China  . 

. Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Chinese  Babies  .... 

16 

Child  leading  Buffalo  . 

. . 20 

Kindergarten  Pupils 

28 

Children  at  Food  and  at  Play 

% 

40 

Going  to  visit  his  Idol  Mother 

. . 60 

Phcenix  ..... 

. 84 

Sunday  School,  Chinchew 

88 

10 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  INVISIBLE  TOP 

The  beginning  of  the  world,  as  it  is  described  to  Chinese 
boys  and  girls,  is  stranger  than  a fairy  tale.  First  of  all, 
according  to  the  story,  there  was  something  called 
‘ khi  * which  could  not  be  seen,  nor  touched,  but  was 
everywhere.  After  a time  this  ‘ khi  ’ began  to  turn 
round  like  a great  invisible  top.  As  it  whirled  round, 
the  thicker  part  sank  downwards  and  became  the  earth, 
whilst  the  thinner  part  rose  upwards,  growing  clearer 
until  it  formed  the  sky,  and  so  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  span  themselves  into  being.  Presently,  for 
the  story  changes  like  a dream,  there  came  a 
giant  named  Pwanku.  For  thousands  of  years  the 
giant  worked,  splitting  masses  of  rock  with  his 
mallet  and  chisel,  until  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  could  be 
seen  through  the  openings  which  he  had  made.  The 
heavens  rose  higher,  the  earth  spread  wider,  and 
Pwanku  himself  grew  six  feet  taller  every  day.  When 
he  died,  his  head  became  mountains,  his  breath  wind, 
and  his  voice  thunder;  his  veins  changed  into  rivers, 
his  body  into  the  earth,  his  bones  into  rocks  and  his 
beard  into  the  stars  that  stream  across  the  night  sky. 
But  though  all  this  is  only  * a suppose  story  ’ of  long 
ago,  the  first  part  of  it  is  wonderfully  like  what  wise 
men  in  our  time  have  told  us  about  the  beginning  of 
things. 

n 


12 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


Now  we  must  talk  of  China  as  it  is  to-day.  The 
country  in  which  Chinese  children  live  is  a land  of  hills 
and  plains,  covered  with  cities,  villages  and  temples. 
You  can  imagine  how  big  it  is  when  you  remember 
that  Szechuan,  which  is  but  one  of  its  eighteen  pro- 
vinces, is  larger  than  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

How  China  grew  into  a great  empire  is  one  of 
the  most  wonderful  stories  of  the  world.  Its  people 
are  said  to  have  come  from  the  west,  across  the  middle 
of  Asia,  settling  at  length  in  what  is  now  the  province 
of  Shansi,  just  where  the  Yellow  River  bends  sharply 
eastwards.  Small  at  first  and  surrounded  by  savages, 
the  baby  kingdom  soon  began  to  grow.  Like  the  tiny 
tent  of  the  Arabian  Nights’  Entertainments,  which 
unfolded  until  an  army  could  rest  beneath  the  roof, 
China  spread  until,  a thousand  years  before  the  time  of 
Our  Lord,  its  borders  on  the  north  and  west  were  pretty 
much  what  they  are  to-day,  and  it  had  crept  south- 
wards many  miles  beyond  the  Yellow  River.  The  nation 
went  on  growing,  drawing  other  tribes  and  peoples 
into  itself,  until,  not  long  after  King  Alfred’s  time,  the 
mother  kingdom,  without  counting  its  subject  countries, 
was  fifteen  times  as  large  as  Great  Britain. 

What  is  now  the  Chinese  Empire  is  said  to  have  been 
gained  in  peaceful  ways  rather  than  by  fighting,  and  this 
no  doubt  is  partly  true.  The  people  knew  more  than 
their  neighbours  did.  Their  fife  was  better  and  happier. 
One  after  another  the  tribes  wanted  to  join  them,  and 
so  the  kingdom  grew  until  one  of  the  great  changes  of 
the  world  was  made.  This  will  help  you  to  understand 
why  the  Chinese  have  always  believed  in  peace  rather 
than  force,  and  until  lately  have  not  cared  for  war. 

The  history  of  China  at  first,  like  that  of  other  nations, 
is  rather  misty.  In  spite  of  this,  however,  we  can  make 
out  that  long  ago  the  people  had  wise  and  good  men  to 


THE  INVISIBLE  TOP 


13 


lead  them,  among  whom  were  Yao  and  Shun,  the  model 
rulers  of  the  empire.,  and  Yu  the  Great,  who  drained  the 
waters  of  a vast  flood  and  cut  down  forests  until  the 
land  was  fit  to  dwell  in.  Much  has  happened  since  then. 
Greece  and  Rome  have  rissn,  flourished,  and  decayed. 
This  nation,  under  many  different  families  of  rulers, 
and  in  spite  of  some  seventeen  changes  of  capital,  has 
outlived  them  by  centuries.  Turks,  Mongols  and 
Manchus  have  fought  against  it,  and,  as  in  the  present 
day,  at  times  have  conquered  the  country,  only  to  be 
conquered  in  turn  by  the  wonderful  Chinese  people. 

Of  all  the  many  changes  in  China’s  story,  perhaps 
none  has  been  more  startling  than  that  which  hap- 
pened in  1908,  when  the  Emperor  Kwangsu  and  the 
Empress  Dowager  died,  within  two  days  of  each  other. 
The  whole  country  was  thrown  into  mourning,  almost 
all  the  people  going  unshaved  for  a hundred  days, 
until  long  hair  and  bristling  faces  made  the  Chinese 
world  look  sad  indeed. 

On  the  2nd  December  of  the  same  year,  the  Emperor 
Hsuan  Tung,  bom  in  1906,  ascended  the  Dragon 
Throne,  and  so  the  oldest  of  Empires  came  to  have  the 
youngest  of  sovereigns  for  its  ruler,  and  the  world  dis- 
covered that  the  greatest  child  on  earth  was  a little 
Chinese  boy.  It  is  said  that  the  baby  emperor, 
frightened  by  the  sight  of  so  many  people  in  state  dress, 
began  to  cry  when  he  was  set  upon  the  throne.  He 
was  soon  comforted,  however,  by  some  of  the  ladies-in- 
waiting, and  sat  quietly  until  the  grand  ceremony  was 
finished. 

The  little  man  is  the  first  ruler  of  China  who,  from 
the  beginning  of  his  reign,  has  had  prayer  offered  for 
him  by  Christian  people  all  over  the  empire,  and  we 
may  be  sure  that  blessing  will  be  given  to  him  in 
answer  to  these  prayers.  Boys  and  girls  everywhere 


14 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


ought  to  ask  God  to  help  the  boy  sovereign  of  the  last 
great  heathen  empire  of  the  world. 

Here  is  a description  which  opens  a window  for  us 
into  his  nursery:  “ Young  as  he  is,  the  emperor  shows 
a great  love  of  soldiers,  and  has  little  spears  and  swords 
and  horses  among  his  playthings.  The  sight  of  toy 
weapons  will  stop  him  from  crying  and  make  him  laugh. 
His  Majesty  is  much  pleased  when  a horse  is  shown  to 
him,  and  will  not  be  satisfied  until  he  has  been  lifted 
on  to  its  back  and  taken  for  a ride.” 


CHAPTER  II 

CHINESE  BABIES 

A difference  is  made  between  boys  and  girls  in  China, 
but  it  is  not  so  great  as  the  following  lines  might  lead 
you  to  think : 

“When  a son  is  born, 

He  sleeps  on  a bed, 

He  is  clothed  in  robes, 

He  plays  with  gems, 

His  cry  is  princely  loud, 

This  emperor  is  clad  in  purple, 

He  is  the  domestic  prince  and  king. 

When  a daughter  is  born, 

She  sleeps  on  the  ground, 

She  is  clothed  with  a wrapper, 

She  plays  with  a tile, 

She  cannot  be  either  evil  or  good, 

She  has  only  to  think  of  preparing  wine  and  food, 
Without  giving  any  cause  of  grief  to  her  parents.”  1 

In  winter  time  little  King  Baby  is  rolled  in  clothes 
until  he  looks  like  a ball,  though  his  feet  and  part  of  his 

1 Dolittle,  Handbook  of  the  Chinese  Language. 


CHINESE  BABIES 


15 


legs  are  usually  bare.  When  asleep  he  is  laid  in  a bamboo 
cradle,  on  rough  rockers  which  loudly  thump  the  floor. 
A red  cord  is  tied  to  his  wrist,  lest  he  should  be  naughty 
when  grown  up,  and  people  should  say,  “ They  forgot 
to  bind  your  wrist  when  you  were  little.”  Ancient 
coins  are  hung  round  his  neck  by  a string  to  drive 
away  evil  spirits  and  to  make  him  grow  up  an  obedient 
child.  When  he  is  a month  old,  friends  and  relatives 
bring  him  presents,  a feast  is  made  and  Master  Tiny  has 
his  head  shaved  in  front  of  the  ancestral  tablets,  which 
stand  on  a narrow  table  at  the  back  of  the  chief  room 
of  the  house.  The  barber  who  takes  off  the  black 
fluff  from  the  little  round  head,  receives  a present  of 
money;  baby,  for  his  part,  becoming  the  proud  possessor 
of  a cap,  with  a row  of  gilded  images  in  front,  which  is 
presented  to  him  by  his  grandmother,  together  with  a 
pair  of  shoes 1 having  a pussy’s  face  worked  upon  each 
toe  in  the  hope  that  “ he  may  walk  as  safely  through 
life  as  a cat  does  on  a wall.”  Baby-boy  also  receives 
what  is  called  his  ‘ milk-name/  which  serves  him 
until  he  goes  to  school.  Some  of  the  names  given  to 
babies  sound  strange:  Dust-pan,  Pock-marked  Boy, 
Winter  Dog,  One  Hundred  and  Ten.  Ugly  names  are 
sometimes  given,  in  the  hope  that  the  spirits  may  think 
that  babies  so  called  are  not  worth  troubling  about  and 
thus  may  leave  them  to  grow  up  unharmed.  In  the 
same  way  an  ear-ring  is  put  in  a little  boy’s  ear,  and  he 
is  called  Little  Sister  to  make  the  demons  imagine 
that  he  is  only  a girl,  and  so  not  worthy  of  their  notice, 
or  his  head  is  clean-shaved  all  over,  and  he  is  dressed 
like  a monk  for  the  same  purpose. 

Girl  babies,  like  their  little  brothers,  are  shaved  at 
the  end  of  the  first  month,  but  with  less  ceremony. 

1 When  these  shoes  have  the  character  for  ‘ King’  on  them,  they  are 
called  Tiger  shoes. 


16 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


They  are  called  Water  Fairy,  Slave  Girl,  Likes 
to  Cry,  Golden  Needle,  or  some  such  name. 
Though  some  of  the  little  ones  suffer  from  neglect  and 
hardship,  many  of  them  are  happy  in  their  babyhood. 
The  people  say,  " Children  are  one’s  very  flesh,  life, 
heart,”  and  when  the  traveller  sees  a father  or  a mother 
proudly  carrying  one  of  them  about,  or  patiently 
bearing  with  its  naughtiness,  he  can  well  believe  that 
they  mean  what  they  say.  Sometimes  a mother  pre- 
tends to  bite  her  baby,  saying,  “ Good  to  eat,  good 
to  eat”;  sometimes  she  presses  her  nose  against  its 
tender  cheek,  as  if  smelling  it,  and  kisses  it  again  and 
again.  The  little  things  have  shining  black  eyes,  with 
long  dark  lashes  which  look  so  nice  against  the  faint 
olive  tint  of  the  delicate  skin. 

When  Master  Tiny  is  a year  old,  another  feast  is 
made,  and  brightly-coloured  shoes  and  hats  are  given 
to  him.  After  the  feast  is  over  the  little  fellow  is  put 
on  a table  in  the  room  where  the  ancestors  of  the 
family  are  worshipped.  Round  him  are  placed  various 
things,  such  as  a pen,  a string  of  cash,  a mandarin’s 
button,  etc.  Then  everyone  waits  to  see  which  he  will 
stretch  out  a fat  hand  to  seize,  for  it  is  supposed  that  the 
thing  which  he  chooses  will  show  what  he  is  going  to  be 
or  to  do  in  the  world,  by  and  by.  If  baby  grabs  the 
pen,  he  will  be  a scholar;  if  the  money  takes  his  fancy, 
he  will  go  into  business  ; but  if  his  eager  fingers  grasp 
the  shining  mandarin  button,  his  father  and  mother 
hopefully  believe  that  he  will  be  a great  man  some  day. 

The  Chinese  are  wonderfully  patient  and  kind  in 
treating  their  babies.  Much  of  the  gladness  of  their 
lives  and  of  their  homes  is  bound  up  with  the  boys  and 
girls  who  play  about  their  houses.  They  love  their 
children,  in  spite  of  things  which  sometimes  seem  to 
prove  that  they  do  not.  When  the  little  ones  learn, 


CHINESE  BABIES 


CHINESE  BABIES 


17 


at  church  or  Christian  school,  to  know  the  Saviour,  they 
bring  a new  gladness  into  the  home.  Not  a few  Chinese 
children  have  been  able  to  interest  their  fathers  and 
mothers  and  other  friends  in  the  Gospel,  as  you  shall 
hear  later  on,  and  so  the  words  “ A little  child  shall  lead 
them,”  have  found  a new  meaning  in  far-away  China. 

Here  is  the  picture  of  two  little  twin-boys,  four  years 
old.  Some  time  ago,  one  of  them  said  to  his  sister: 
“ God  does  not  sleep  at  night.”  His  father,  who  had 
heard  the  words,  asked,  “ Lien-a,  how  do  you  know 
that  God  does  not  sleep  at  night?  ” 

“ The  hymn  says,  * God  night  and  day  is  waking* 
He  never  sleeps/  ” answered  the  little  fellow. 

“ But  can’t  you  think  of  something  yourself  which 
shows  that  God  is  awake  at  night?  ” asked  his  father. 

“ I hear  the  wind  at  night,”  said  the  child,  after  a 
little  pause,  “ and  see  the  moon  and  stars.”  He  meant 
God  must  be  awake  to  keep  the  wind  blowing  and  the 
moon  and  stars  shining. 

One  day  a friend  gave  each  of  the  twins  a bright 
new  five-cent  piece.  Their  mother  took  care  of  the 
coins,  saying,  “ I will  keep  them  for  you,  until  we  can  get 
enough  to  use  as  buttons  for  your  next  new  jackets,” 
and  the  little  fellows  were  ever  so  happy.  Not  long 
after,  people  were  gathering  money  to  build  a new 
church,  and  the  little  boys’  father  said  to  them: 
“ Children,  have  you  got  anything  which  you  can 
give  to  help  to  build  the  new  church?  ” The  little  boys 
thought  and  thought,  then  one  of  them  said,  “Yes, 
we  have  our  silver  buttons.”  So  they  gave  their 
treasured  little  shining  pennies  most  gladly.  But  I 
think  that  God  was  gladder  still. 


B 


18 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  CHILDREN’S  HOME 

Homes  differ  as  much  in  China  as  in  other  lands. 
Some  are  palaces,  some  poor  huts,  some  are  caves  cut 
into  the  face  of  cliffs,  some  are  boats  upon  rivers, 
where  thousands  of  boys  and  girls  learn  to  handle  the 
oar  from  their  earliest  childhood.  Some  are  in  dusty 
villages  by  the  roadside,  others  are  set  between  stairs 
of  green  rice  fields  upon  mountain  slopes,  or  built  upon 
flat  plains  among  giant  millet  and  other  crops. 

A large  number  of  children  are  brought  up  in  cities. 
You  cannot  easily  get  at  their  homes  because  of  the 
streams  of  blue-clad  people  who  throng  the  streets. 
Come  for  a walk  among  the  busy  shops,  so  that  you  may 
know  something  of  the  place  where  Chinese  boys  and 
girls  spend  so  much  of  their  time.  Sedan-chairs,  carried 
by  strong  men,  push  through  the  crowd,  shaving  butch- 
ers’ stalls  and  narrowly  missing  the  heads  of  running 
children.  Burden  bearers,  with  bags  of  rice  on  their 
backs,  or  loaded  with  vegetables,  pigs  in  open  baskets, 
bales  of  cotton  or  tobacco,  follow  one  another  over 
the  slippery  pavement. 

Here  comes  a pedlar  selling  tapes,  needles  and  bits 
of  silk.  He  is  called  a ‘ bell  shaker,’  because  he  tinkles 
a little  bell  to  call  attention  to  his  wares.  That  poor 
man,  with  shaggy  hair  and  half-naked  skin,  is  ‘ a 
cotton-rags  fairy,’  or  beggar.  He  lives  in  a ‘ beggars’ 
camp  ’ not  far  away. 

Look  in  at  this  temple.  The  heavy  scent,  remind- 
ing you  of  rose-leaves  and  stale  tobacco,  which  comes 
through  the  open  doorway,  is  the  smell  of  incense. 
Beyond  the  court,  inside  the  door,  is  a big  room  where 


THE  CHILDREN’S  HOME 


19 


idols,  once  bright  with  gilding,  now  blackened  with 
smoke,  sit  each  upon  its  throne.  Those  spots  of  light 
inside  the  hall  are  made  by  candles  burning  on  the  altar 
beneath  the  gloomy  roof. 

Boys  and  girls  do  not  care  to  go  inside,  unless  their 
mothers  bring  them  to  bow  before  the  idols.  Some  of 
the  images  have  ugly  faces,  blue,  black  and  fiery  red, 
which  children  can  scarcely  look  at  without  being 
afraid.  Some  are  gilt  and  have  a strange  smile  upon 
their  lips.  Here  is  a description  of  an  idol  in  its 
temple : 

“ I dreamed  I was  an  idol,  and  I sat 
Still  as  a crystal,  smiling  as  a cat, 

Where  silent  priests  through  immemorial  hours 
Wove  for  my  head  mysterious  scarlet  flowers. 

• ••••• 

There  as  I waited  day  by  changeless  day, 

My  people  brought  their  gifts  and  knelt  to  pray, 

And  I 

in  unavailing  pity  sat 

Still  as  a crystal,  smiling  as  a cat.” 

Let  us  turn  down  this  narrow  lane.  Now  we  have 
left  the  shops  and  the  busy  street.  Look  at  the  rows 
of  smallish  houses,  each  with  a bit  of  plain  wall  and  a 
bamboo  screen  hanging  in  front  of  the  door.  You  hear 
the  sound  of  children’s  voices  within  as  you  pass.  How 
happy  that  little  boy  is,  running  along  in  bright  red 
trousers,  flying  his  kite.  His  home  is  near  by;  when 
he  is  older  he  will  go  to  school,  or  learn  a trade  in  one 
of  the  shops  not  far  away. 

Here  the  streets  are  narrower.  What  strange 
names  they  have!  Stone  Bird  Lane,  Grinding  Row, 
Old  Woo’s  Lane,  Bean  Curd  Lane,  Family  Ma’s 
Market. 

Look  at  this  big  house.  Turn  in  by  the  opening 
at  the  right  of  the  front  door.  Now  we  are  inside  the 
first  court,  an  open  space  with  rooms  all  round.  The 


20 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


room  in  front  of  us  is  the  largest  in  the  house.  A 
wooden  cabinet  stands  on  the  narrow  table  against  the 
back  wall : it  is  full  of  slips  of  wood,  each  about  a foot 
high.  These  slips  of  wood  are  called  * ancestral  tablets/ 
because  the  Chinese  think  that  the  souls  of  their  ancestors 
live  in  them.  Each  one  has  writing  upon  it,  telling  the 
name  of  the  person  whose  soul  is  said  to  be  inside. 

To  right  and  left  of  the  chief  room  are  two  smaller 
ones,  used  as  bedrooms.  Behind  these  again  is  another 
court,  with  rooms  ranged  round  it  like  the  front  one, 
and  behind  it  perhaps  another.  Some  houses  have 

* five  descents  * ; for  Chinese  stories,  which  are  called 

* descents/  are  put  one  behind  the  other,  instead  of 
being  piled  upwards  as  are  ours. 

You  may  see  a girl  seated  at  a loom,  driving  the 
shuttle  to  and  fro.  How  slowly  the  cloth  grows. 
Every  time  the  shuttle  flies  across,  the  web  gains  a 
line.  Thread  by  thread  it  lengthens,  just  as  a 
child’s  life  lengthens  day  by  day;  that  is  why  the 
Chinese  proverb  says,  “ Days  and  months  are  like  a 
shuttle,  light  and  dark  fly  like  an  arrow.”  The  older 
boys  of  the  household  are  at  school  or  at  work.  That 
woman  who  is  washing  rice  in  an  earthen  pot,  has  a 
baby  slung  by  a checked  cotton  cloth  upon  her  back. 
The  child  rolls  its  bullet  head  and  sucks  a fat  thumb, 
whilst  one  dumpy  foot  sticks  out  below  its  mother’s 
arm.  The  lady  in  a blue  tunic,  with  bright  flowers  in 
her  hair,  is  the  mistress  of  the  house ; see  how  she  sways 
on  her  tiny  bound  feet,  as  she  moves  across  the  tiled 
floor. 

If  the  head  of  the  house  is  a scholar  he  wears  long 
robes  of  cotton  or  silk,  blue  and  grey,  one  above  the 
other,  or  in  the  hot  weather  white  ‘ grass  cloth,’  thin  as 
muslin.  He  has  the  top  of  his  head  shaved  and  wears 
his  back  hair  in  a long  plait  or  queue.  On  New  Year’s 


i 


CHILD  LEADING  BUFFALO 


THE  CHILDREN’S  HOME 


21 


day  or  at  other  special  times,  he  puts  on  a pointed 
hat,  with  a flossy  red  tassel,  top-boots  and  a silk 
jacket  on  which  is  embroidered  a stork  or  some 
other  bird,  to  show  his  literary  rank.  An  officer 
in  the  army  would  have  a bear  or  some  other  fierce 
animal  embroidered  on  his  jacket  instead  of  a bird. 

In  country  homes  a mill  for  taking  the  husk  off 
rice  stands  inside  the  door,  where  perhaps  you  might 
expect  to  find  a hatstand.  Sometimes  a sleek  brown 
cow  moos  softly  on  the  other  side  of  the  porch.  Jars, 
full  of  salted  vegetables,  share  the  front  court  with  the 
usual  pigs,  chickens  and  dogs.  Look  at  that  mandarin 
duck,  bobbing  her  head  and  throwing  forward  her 
bill,  as  if  trying  to  bring  up  a bone  which  had  stuck  in 
her  throat  just  as  she  was  in  the  act  of  curtsying  to 
you.  She  bows  and  curtsies  all  day,  until  even  the 
fat  baby,  lying  on  a kerb-stone  at  the  edge  of  the 
court,  grows  tired  of  watching  her  antics. 

Children  run  in  and  out  of  the  house.  One  plays 
with  a big,  green  grasshopper,  which  struggles  hope- 
lessly at  the  end  of  a string.  Somewhere  outside,  a 
little  boy  or  girl  is  sure  to  be  leading  a buffalo  by  a 
rope,  on  the  edge  of  the  rice  fields.  Farther  away 
some  boys  and  girls  are  gathering  leaves,  or  cutting  fern 
on  the  hillside. 

About  noon  the  household  gathers  for  dinner. 
The  men  go  to  the  kitchen  and  return  with  bowls  of 
rice  and  sweet  potatoes  or  vermicelli.  In  the  middle 
of  the  table  they  have  salted  vegetables,  bean-curd 
cake  cut  into  small  pieces,  dried  shrimps,  and  on  feast 
days,  pork  hash  in  soy,  all  in  different  dishes.  Each 
man  has  two  pieces  of  bamboo,  rather  thicker  than 
wooden  knitting-needles,  which  he  holds  between  the 
thumb  and  first  three  fingers  of  his  right  hand.  With 
these  chopsticks,  as  they  are  called,  he  picks  up  a bit  of 


n 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


meat  or  vegetable  and  begins  to  eat  it,  but  before  it  is 
swallowed  he  puts  his  bowl  to  his  lips,  and  holding  it 
there,  pushes  some  rice  or  potatoes  into  his  mouth. 
One  mouthful  follows  another,  and  in  no  time  the  bowl 
is  empty.  Now  you  know  how  to  answer  the  Chinese 
riddle:  “Two  pieces  of  bamboo  drive  ducks  through 
a narrow  door.”  The  * narrow  door  ' of  course  is  a 
mouth,  the  ' ducks  ’ are  bits  of  pork  and  fish,  the 
pieces  of  bamboo  are  chopsticks. 

Sometimes  the  country  people  do  not  eat  at  a table, 
but  sit  in  the  shadow  of  the  porch,  or  on  the  edge  of  the 
stone  coping  which  surrounds  the  front  court.  The 
story  is  told  of  a poor  boy,  who  used  to  eat  his  meals  in 
this  way.  The  stone  on  which  he  sat  had  a crack  in  it. 
When  the  boy  began  to  study,  he  used  to  bring  his  book 
and  a basin  of  food,  so  that  he  might  read  as  he  sat  on 
the  broken  slab  eating  his  dinner.  By  and  by  he 
became  a great  scholar  and  viceroy  or  ruler  of  the 
province  of  Szechuan.  When  he  returned  to  his  native 
place,  full  of  riches  and  honour,  he  rebuilt  the  old  home 
and  made  it  beautiful,  but  he  kept  the  broken  kerb- 
stone unaltered,  in  front  of  the  dining-room.  It  was 
left  with  the  crack  in  it  to  remind  him  of  the  time  when 
he  was  a barefoot  boy  and  used  to  sit  by  the  edge  of 
the  court,  eating  rice  or  learning  his  lessons. 

When  the  men  have  finished  their  meal,  the  women 
and  children  have  theirs.  How  the  fat  little  boys  and 
girls  love  sweet  potatoes!  They  take  them,  pink  and 
yellow  skinned  ones,  in  their  chubby  fingers  and  stuff 
them  down  their  throats,  dogs  and  chickens  waiting 
eagerly  meanwhile  to  pick  up  the  skins  and  stringy  bits 
which  drop  upon  the  ground. 

Though  eating  apart,  girls  and  women  mix  more 
freely  with  the  men  in  these  country  homes  than  in  those 
of  educated  townspeople,  where  they  must  keep  to  their 


SCHOOL  DAYS 


23 


own  rooms  at  the  back  of  the  house.  Into  the  homes 
of  China,  so  different  from  each  other  in  some  things, 
so  alike  in  others,  the  message  of  the  Saviour’s  love 
finds  its  way.  Here  one,  there  another — man, 'woman 
or  child,  believes  the  Gospel  and  begins  to  serve  God. 
In  spite  of  persecution  and  unkindness,  the  new  convert 
remains  faithful.  By  and  by  another  member  of  the 
family  is  won:  sometimes  the  whole  household  is 

changed,  and  the  home  becomes  a Christian  home. 


CHAPTER  IV 

SCHOOL  DAYS 

The  Chinese  people  think  so  much  of  learning  that  they 
say,  “ Better  to  rear  a pig  than  bring  up  a son  who  will 
not  read!  ” 

When  the  time  comes  for  a boy  to  go  to  school,  a 
lucky  day  is  chosen  by  a fortune-teller,  and  young 
Hopeful,  spotless  in  dress,  and  with  head  well  shaved, 
is  taken  to  be  introduced  to  his  teacher.  In  the  neat 
bundle  which  he  carries  as  he  trots  along  by  his 
father’s  side  he  has  ‘ the  four  gems  of  the  study  ’ 
ready  for  use,  that  is  to  say,  a pen  which  has  a brush 
for  a nib,  a cake  of  ink,  a stone  slab  for  rubbing  down 
the  ink  with  water,  and  a set  of  books.  As  soon  as 
the  new  pupil  has  been  taken  into  the  school  and  intro- 
duced in  the  proper  way,  the  teacher  asks  the  spirit 
of  Confucius  to  help  the  little  scholar  with  his  work. 
Then  the  master  sits  down  and  the  boy  bows  his  head 
to  the  ground,  beseeching  his  master  to  teach  him 
letters.  After  this  a * book-name,’  such  as  Flourish- 
ing Virtue,  Literary  Rank,  Opening  Brightness,  is 


24 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


chosen  and  given  to  the  lad;  for  a Chinese  boy  gets 
a new  name  when  he  goes  to  school.  The  room  in 
which  the  budding  scholai  will  sit  at  a little  black 
table  for  many  a day  to  come  is  often  dark  and  dingy, 
with  tiny  windows  and  a low  tiled  roof. 

A book,  called  The  Juvenile  Instructor,  tells  how 
children  used  to  be  trained,  in  the  good  old  days  of 
China’s  greatness.  It  says:  “ When  able  to  talk,  lads 
must  be  instructed  to  answer  in  a quick,  bold  tone, 
and  girls  in  a slow  and  gentle  one.  At  the  age  of  seven 
they  should  be  taught  to  count  and  name  the  points 
of  the  compass,  but  at  this  age  boys  and  girls  should 
not  be  allowed  to  sit  on  the  same  mat  nor  to  eat  at  the 
same  table.  At  eight  they  must  wait  for  their  superiors 
and  prefer  others  to  themselves.  . . . Let  children 
always  be  taught  to  speak  the  simple  truth,  to  stand 
erect  in  their  proper  places,  and  to  listen  with  respectful 
attention.” 

At  an  old-fashioned  Chinese  school  the  pupils  have 
no  A B C;  but  they  have  to  learn  by  heart  * char- 
acters,’ that  is,  the  signs  which  stand  for  words  in  their 
books.  Boys  who  expect  afterwards  to  go  into  business 
are  taught  to  do  sums  by  a clerk  or  shopkeeper,  who 
is  hired  to  teach  them ; but  the  ordinary  schoolboys 
are  taught  no  arithmetic,  or  geography,  or  dates. 
Perhaps  you  think  you  would  like  to  go  to  a Chinese 
school ! But  wait  a bit  until  you  hear  what  Chinese 
boys  have  to  learn. 

Beginners  stand  in  a row  before  the  master’s  table 
and  are  taught  to  read  the  first  line  of  the  Three 
Character  Classic,  until  they  know  it  pretty  well. 
Then  they  sit  in  their  places  and  repeat  it  aloud.  If 
one  of  them  forgets  a word,  he  goes  up  to  the  table 
again  and  asks  his  master  how  to  read  it,  but  he  must 
not  go  too  often. 


SCHOOL  DAYS 


25 


What  a din  there  is  with  some  twenty  boys  all 
reading  at  the  pitch  of  their  voices  ! The  teacher  does 
not  scold  them,  for  the  busier  his  pupils  are  at  their 
work,  the  noisier  they  become.  Whenever  one  of  the 
class  knows  his  task,  he  hands  in  his  book,  and  turning 
his  face  away,  so  that  his  back  is  to  his  master,  he 
repeats  his  lesson  aloud.  This  ‘ backing  the  book  * 
(as  it  is  called),  is  to  prevent  a dishonest  pupil  from 
using  his  sharp  black  eyes  to  peep  over  the  top  of  the 
page  and  help  himself  along. 

After  the  Three  Character  Classic  and  The  Hundred 
Surnames , which  gives  a list  of  the  family  names  used 
in  China,  the  schoolboy  reads  a book  called  The  Thou- 
sand Character  Classic.  This  book,  made  up  of  exactly 
a thousand  characters,  is  said  to  have  been  written,  by 
order  of  an  emperor  of  China,  in  a single  night.  The 
scholar  who  wrote  it  worked  so  hard,  that  his  hair, 
which  was  black  when  he  began  his  task,  had  turned 
white  when  the  book  was  finished  next  morning.  The 
Four  Books  and  other  Classics,  as  the  standard 
books  of  Chinese  literature  are  called,  are  next  begun 
by  the  pupil. 

Boys  do  a great  deal  of  writing  at  a Chinese  school : 
when  they  are  able  to  read  and  to  repeat  quotations 
from  their  famous  books,  they  must  go  on  to  the 
higher  art.  First  they  are  taught  how  to  hold  the 
brush  pen.  Each  boy  is  given  a small  book  of  red 
characters.  He  dips  his  sharp-pointed  brush  in  ink 
and  holding  it  straight  up  and  down  begins  painting 
the  red  letters  over.  After  a time  he  goes  on  to  tracing 
letters  on  thin  paper  over  a copy.  A square  of  wood, 
painted  white,  serves  him  as  a slate.  On  this  he  writes 
characters,  which  balance  one  another,  as  heaven  and 
earth,  fire  and  water,  light  and  darkness.  By  and 
by  he  begins  essay  and  letter-writing,  which  is  very 


26 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


difficult  in  Chinese.  Pupils  used  to  spend  many 
years  on  this,  but  nowadays  schoolboys  in  China 
have  to  do  more  sums  and  less  writing  than  their 
fathers  did. 

Writing  essays  and  verses  used  to  be  the  chief 
lessons  at  a Chinese  school;  for  when  scholars  were 
fairly  good  at  these,  they  entered  for  the  examinations. 
It  was  a difficult  thing  for  a boy  to  go  into  the  great 
examination  hall  among  two  or  three  thousand  men, 
and,  after  having  been  searched  to  make  sure  that 
he  had  no  books  or  cribs  up  his  sleeves,  to  go  and  sit 
at  a bench  and  write  his  essay.  Yet  many  gained 
degrees  when  very  young. 

One  of  these  was  called  Ta  Pin.  He  had  a wonder- 
ful memory  and  when  he  had  read  the  Five  Classics 
once  over,  he  could  remember  them  every  word! 
When  eight  years  old,  Ta  Pin  was  in  the  house  of  an 
elderly  scholar,  who  was  pleased  by  his  good  manners 
and  wise  ways.  Seeing  that  he  behaved  more  like 
a grown-up  man  than  a boy,  the  old  gentleman  pointed 
to  a chair  and  said:  “ With  a cushion  made  of  tiger’s 
skin,  to  cover  the  student’s  chair.”  Then  he  waited  to 
see  if  Ta  Pin  could  answer  this  bit  of  poetry  as  a grown- 
up scholar  would  have  done,  by  a second  line  of  verse, 
which  would  match  what  he  had  just  said.  “ With 
a pencil  made  of  rabbit’s  hair,  to  write  the  graduate’s 
tablet,”  answered  Ta  Pin,  every  word  of  his  line  pairing 
with  the  corresponding  word  in  the  old  gentleman’s 
verse,  4 pencil  ’ with  ‘ cushion,’  ‘ rabbit  ’ with  ‘ tiger,’ 
etc.  The  scholar  struck  the  table  with  delight 
and  gave  a present  to  the  boy.  When  Ta  Pin  was 
thirteen  he  became  a Master  of  Arts,  coming  out 
higher  than  all  the  other  competitors  but  one.  He 
was  afterwards  second  in  the  examination  for  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Letters  and  won  the  highest  degree 


SCHOOL  DAYS  27 

of  all  next  year.  This  clever  boy  lived  over  four  hundred 
years  ago,  when  the  Ming  emperors  ruled  in  China. 

The  story  of  how  Mencius’  mother  looked  after 
him  whilst  he  was  at  school,  is  very  interesting. 
At  first  they  lived  together  near  a cemetery  and 
little  Mencius  amused  himself  with  acting  the 
various  scenes  which  he  saw  at  the  graves. 
“ This,”  said  his  mother,  “ is  not  the  place  for  my 
boy.”  So  she  went  to  live  in  the  market  street.  But 
the  change  brought  no  improvement.  The  little  boy 
played  then  at  being  a shopkeeper,  offering  things  for 
sale  and  bargaining  with  imaginary  customers.  His 
devoted  mother  then  took  a house  beside  a public 
school.  Now  the  child  was  interested  by  the  things 
which  the  scholars  were  taught,  and  tried  to  imitate 
them.  The  mother  was  pleased  and  said:  “This  is 
the  proper  place  for  my  son.”  Near  their  new  house 
was  a butcher’s  shop.  One  day  Mencius  asked  what 
they  were  killing  pigs  for.  “ To  feed  you,”  answered 
his  mother.  Then  she  thought  to  herself,  “ Before 
this  child  was  born  I wished  him  to  be  well  brought 
up,  and  now  that  his  mind  is  opening  I am  deceiving 
him;  and  this  is  to  teach  him  untruthfulness.”  So 
she  went  and  bought  a piece  of  the  pork,  to  make  good 
her  words.  After  a time,  Mencius  went  to  school.  One 
day  when  he  came  home  from  school  his  mother  looked 
up  from  the  loom  at  which  she  was  sitting,  and  asked 
him  how  far  he  had  got  with  his  books.  He  answered 
carelessly  that  “ he  was  doing  well  enough.”  On 
which  she  took  a knife  and  cut  through  the  web  she 
was  weaving.  The  idle  little  boy,  who  knew  the 
labour  required  to  weave  the  cloth,  now  spoilt,  was 
greatly  surprised  and  asked  her  what  she  meant.  Then 
she  told  him  that  cutting  through  the  web  and  spoiling 
her  work  was  like  his  neglecting  his  tasks.  This  made 


28 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


the  lad  think  and  determine  not  to  spoil  the  web  of  his 
life  by  idle  ways;  so  the  lesson  did  not  need  to  be 
repeated.1  Thanks  to  the  care  of  this  wise  and  patient 
mother,  Mencius  grew  up  to  be  a famous  man. 

An  old-fashioned  Chinese  school  opens  about  the 
sixteenth  of  the  first  moon,  or  month,  and  continues 
for  the  rest  of  the  year.  The  teacher  often  goes  home 
to  attend  feasts,  weddings,  birthdays  or  funerals;  or 
when  the  rice  is  cut,  so  that  he  may  get  his  share  of  the 
harvest  from  the  family  fields.  In  the  third  month 
he  has  to  be  away  worshipping  at  the  graves  of  his 
ancestors;  and  in  the  fifth  month,  when  the  dragon 
boats  race  each  other,  and  on  other  festivals  in  the 
seventh,  tenth  and  eleventh  months  he  will  probably 
go  home  for  a day  or  two.  Whenever  the  master  is 
away,  the  boys  play  and  idle  in  the  streets,  unless 
they  have  to  help  with  the  harvest  or  run  messages  for 
their  parents.  So  you  see,  although  they  do  not 
have  regular  Easter  and  summer  holidays,  they  do 
not  fare  badly. 

But  such  schools  as  this  will  soon  be  left  only  in 
country  villages.  In  the  larger  cities  pupils  and 
teachers  alike  are  giving  up  the  old  slow-going  ways.  In 
the  Government  schools  the  boys  wear  a uniform  and 
look  like  young  soldiers.  The  classes  are  distinguished 
by  stripes,  like  those  worn  on  their  arms  by  privates, 
corporals,  sergeants  and  so  forth.  You  can  tell  the 
class  a boy  belongs  to  by  looking  at  his  arm.  When 
a visitor  enters  the  school  a bell  tinkles  and  all  the  boys 
stand  up  and  touch  their  caps,  as  soldiers  do  when 
saluting  an  officer.  Inspectors  visit  the  new  schools 
to  see  how  masters  and  scholars  are  doing  their  work. 

Kindergartens,  where  little  boys  and  girls  go  to 
learn  their  first  lessons,  though  new  to  China,  are  much 

1 James  Legge,  Mencius , p.  io. 


KINDERGARTEN  PUPILS 


i 


SCHOOL  DAYS 


29 


liked  by  the  children  and  their  parents,  and  before  long 
will  become  a great  power  for  good  in  the  land.  The 
little  ones  love  to  sing  and  march  in  time.  Their  tiny 
fingers  are  clever  at  making  hills  and  islands  out  of 
sand,  or  counting  coloured  balls  and  marbles.  Their 
sharp  eyes  are  quick  to  see  picture  lessons,  which  are 
drawn  for  them  upon  the  blackboard,  and  their  ears 
attentive  to  the  teacher  who  explains  them.  Ears, 
eyes,  hands,  feet,  all  help  the  little  heads  to  learn,  as 
reading,  writing,  geography  and  arithmetic  are  changed 
from  lessons  into  delightful  games,  by  the  Kinder- 
garten fairy. 

When  the  closing  day  comes,  crowds  gather  to  see 
the  clever  babies  march  and  wave  their  coloured  flags. 
Fathers  and  mothers  are  ever  so  proud  when  they  hear 
their  own  little  children  sing  action-songs,  and  repeat 
their  lessons  without  a mistake,  and  they  gladly  give 
money  to  put  up  buildings  and  train  teachers  for  the 
‘ children’s  garden,’  for  that  is  what  Kindergarten 
means. 

Chinese  boys  and  girls  are  fond  of  study,  and  so 
they  will  surely  make  their  country  famous  once  more. 
The  romance  of  China  is  not  connected  with  making 
love  or  fighting;  it  gathers  round  the  boy  who  is  faith- 
ful at  his  tasks,  who  takes  his  degree  early  and  rises  to 
be  a great  official.  When  the  reward  of  years  of  hard 
work  comes,  he  goes  back  to  the  old  home,  bringing 
comfort  and  honour  to  all  his  friends.  This  is  the  hope 
which  has  helped  on  many  a little  scholar  and  made 
his  school  life  glad. 

This  Chinese  love  of  learning  has  opened  a door 
by  which  the  Gospel  may  enter  the  minds  of  the 
people.  Wherever  missionaries  have  gone,  they  have 
established  schools,  in  which  many  children  have 
learnt  to  know  God’s  truth  and  love  the  Saviour. 


30 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


CHAPTER  V 

GIRLS 

It  is  hard  to  begin  life  as  one  who  is  not  wanted. 
Many  a Chinese  girl  cannot  help  knowing  that  she  has 
come  into  the  world  bringing  disappointment  to  her 
father  and  mother. 

“ What  is  your  little  one’s  name?  ” said  a foreigner 
to  a woman,  who  was  walking  along  with  a small  child 
near  Amoy. 

“It  is  a girl,”  was  the  reply,  as  much  as  to  say, 
“ You  need  not  trouble  to  waste  time  asking  about 
her.” 

“ I know,  venerable  dame,”  said  the  foreigner, 
“ but  what  is  her  name?  ” 

“Not  Wanted,”  was  the  strange  answer. 

“You  should  love  your  little  girl  as  much  as  a boy. 
Why  do  you  speak  so  unkindly  of  her?  ” said  the 
foreigner,  thinking  that  the  mother  meant  she  did  not 
want  her  child.  The  woman  laughed,  but  said  nothing. 

“Now  tell  me  her  name,”  persisted  the  foreigner, 
anxious  to  show  interest  in  the  despised  girl. 

“ Not  Wanted,”  repeated  the  woman  again. 

“ Not . . .”  began  the  stranger  once  more,  meaning 
to  tell  the  ignorant  woman  not  to  speak  so  unkindly  of 
her  little  girl. 

“Not  Wanted  is  her  name,”  said  the  woman 
quickly,  before  the  foreigner  could  finish  the  sentence. 

It  would  be  sad  indeed  to  know  one  was  not 
wanted,  but  it  would  be  harder  still  to  be  reminded  of 
it  every  time  one  was  called  by  one’s  own  name. 
How  would  an  English  girl  like  to  be  so  treated? 


GIRLS 


31 


" Not  Wanted,  come  and  have  your  hair  brushed.” 
“ Not  Wanted,  where  are  you?  ” “Not  Wanted, 
come  and  play  with  your  little  brother,”  and  so  forth. 
When  a baby  girl’s  fortune,  as  told  by  the  fortune- 
tellers, is  not  a lucky  one,  she  may  perhaps  be  handed 
over  to  Buddhist  nuns,  who  wall  give  her  rice, 
potatoes  and  vegetables,  but  no  fish  or  meat  or  eggs. 
The  little  one,  if  she  lives  to  grow  up,  will  serve  in  the 
nunnery  and  help  with  the  worship  offered  to  the  idols. 
When  old  enough  to  become  a nun  she  will  have  her  head 
shaved,  till  it  looks  as  round  as  a bullet,  and  wear  tight 
black  trousers,  a short  blue  coat  and  a close-fitting  cap 
of  black  cloth;  and  she  will  learn  to  do  the  fine  em- 
broideries, most  of  which  are  the  work  of  Buddhist 
nuns. 

Sometimes,  when  the  fortune-teller  says  a little  girl 
will  bring  bad  luck  to  her  own  family,  she  is  given  to 
another  household,  where  she  will  be  brought  up  to  be 
the  wife  of  one  of  the  sons,  when  he  is  old  enough  to 
marry.  This  often  happens,  but  it  is  not  a good  plan 
and  leads  to  unhappiness,  as  you  will  hear  later  on. 

The  everyday  dress  of  Chinese  girls  is  simple  enough. 
When  they  first  begin  to  walk  they  are  odd  little 
bundles  of  clothes,  topped  by  a little  jacket  and  a 
cloth  cap,  which  covers  their  head  and  ears  and  neck, 
leaving  the  face  open.  When  they  grow  older  they 
wear  jackets  of  cotton, — blue  stamped  with  white 
flowers  is  a favourite  pattern, — loose  coloured  trousers 
and  tiny  embroidered  shoes.  They  wear  ear-rings, 
silver  bangles  on  their  ankles,  and  sometimes  a ring 
on  one  finger.  When  they  are  engaged  to  be  married, 
they  wear  a bangle  on  one  arm.  Their  hair,  which  has 
been  worn  in  a plait  behind,  is,  when  they  are  old 
enough  to  be  married,  put  up  in  a neat  coil  at  the  back 
of  the  head,  and  pretty  pins  and  flowers  are  stuck  into 


32 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


it.  It  is  a great  day  in  a girl's  life  when  her  hair  is 
done  up  in  this  way. 

The  first  great  trial  which  a Chinese  girl  has  to 
meet  is  when  she  has  her  feet  bound.  Her  toes  are 
pulled  towards  the  heel,  by  winding  a strip  of  cotton 
cloth  round  them  and  drawing  it  tight.  Tiny  girls 
of  six  or  seven  sometimes  have  to  bear  the  pain  of 
having  their  poor  little  feet  pinched  together  in  this 
way,  though  eight  or  nine  is  the  more  common  age  to 
begin.  It  must  be  extremely  painful  to  have  the  bones 
twisted  and  the  flesh  crushed,  until  it  decays  and  dries ; 
but  when  the  pain  is  over,  and  a girl  has  ‘ golden  lilies/ 
only  two  or  three  inches  long,  she  is  very  proud  of 
them,  and  people  praise  the  child's  mother  for  all  the 
trouble  she  has  taken  to  make  her  daughter  look  so 
beautiful ! So  strong  is  the  desire  to  be  admired,  that 
often  girls  beg  to  have  their  feet  bound,  in  spite  of  all 
the  pain  they  will  have  to  bear. 

Foot-binding,  being  foreign  to  Manchu  customs,  is 
not  allowed  in  the  Palace.  Some  years  ago,  the 
Empress  Dowager  herself  issued  an  edict  to  the  people 
saying:  “ Not  to  bind  is  better."  Children  brought 
up  in  God-fearing  homes  seldom  or  never  have  to 
suffer  the  torture  of  being  thus  lamed  for  life.  And 
now,  in  many  parts  of  China,  fathers  and  mothers, 
who  do  not  wish  their  little  girls  to  be  crippled, 
have  joined  themselves  into  what  is  called  ‘ The 
Natural  Foot  Society.’  Let  us  hope  that  before  long 
there  will  be  no  more  foot-binding  in  China. 

Girls  brought  up  in  wealthy  homes  are  seldom  seen 
out  of  doors,  but  poorer  children,  at  a very  early  age, 
have  to  do  something  to  help  to  earn  their  living. 
They  gather  firing;  they  nurse  the  baby;  they  cook 
and  sew ; they  learn  to  scrape  the  soot  from  the  bottom 
of  the  family  rice  pot  with  a hoe ; and,  in  some  places, 


GIRLS 


33 


they  very  early  begin  to  carry  loads,  slung  from  a pole 
on  their  shoulders.  Some  sit  beside  their  mothers  and 
help  to  make  paper  money  to  be  offered  to  idols.  Some 
paste  rags  on  a board,  one  on  the  top  of  the  other,  to 
be  afterwards  made  into  soles  for  shoes ; or  they  weave 
coloured  tape,  or  twist  fibre  into  rough  string.  In 
some  parts  of  China  they  make  embroidery,  working 
beautiful  birds  and  flowers  with  their  clever  fingers. 
All  Chinese  girls  learn  to  embroider  and  make  up  their 
own  shoes  and  the  embroidered  bands  which  they 
wear  round  their  distorted  ankles.  Sometimes  they 
feed  silk-worms  with  mulberry  leaves,  and  afterwards 
wind  the  threads  off  the  cocoons  which  the  worms  have 
spun.  When  a little  older  some  girls  may  be  seen 
making  silver  ornaments  for  women’s  hair-pins,  but 
this  is  work  usually  done  by  men  and  boys;  some- 
times poor  girls,  while  they  are  quite  young,  sell 
cakes  and  sweets  in  the  streets,  to  help  their  parents ; 
often  they  spin  cotton  and  weave  it  into  cloth,  to  make 
clothes  for  all  the  family. 

With  the  exception  of  a very  few  daughters  of 
scholars,  who  were  taught  to  read  and  write  by 
their  fathers,  girls  used  never  to  be  troubled  with 
learning.  In  spite  of  this,  there  are  books  giving  the 
names  of  wise  and  learned  women,  some  of  whom, 
especially  in  the  time  of  the  T’ang  Dynasty,  wrote 
famous  poems.  This  shows  that  ages  ago  women  in 
China  were  educated,  but  as  a rule  in  later  days  they 
were  left  untaught,  to  learn  by  slow  degrees  the 
‘ three  dependencies  of  woman/  **  who,”  as  the 
Chinese  say,  “ depends  upon  her  father  when  she  is 
young,  on  her  husband  when  she  is  older,  and  upon 
her  son  when  she  is  very  old.”  The  story  is  told  of  a 
girl,  who  used  to  sing  as  she  toiled  at  her  daily  tasks : 
“ Oh,  the  tea-cup,  the  tea-cup,  the  beautiful,  beauti- 
c 


34 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


ful  tea-cup  ” — that  was  all  the  song  she  knew ! When 
Christianity  conies,  it  brings  new  hope  and  new  songs, 
and  teaches  girls  and  boys  alike  to  know  of  God  and 
Heaven  and  a life  away  beyond  the  narrow  courts  of 
the  houses  in  which  the  earthly  lives  of  so  many  Chinese 
girls  are  shut  up. 

As  we  have  seen  already,  a change  has  come  over 
China.  At  the  beginning  of  1909  there  were  said  to 
be  thirty-seven  girls’  schools  in  Canton  alone,  one  of 
which  had  over  three  hundred  pupils,  and  every  year 
adds  to  the  number  of  such  schools,  all  over  the  land. 
Christian  girls  teach  in  these  schools.  Not  long  ago 
a girl  refused  to  become  teacher  in  a Government 
school  because  she  would  not  be  allowed  to  read  the 
Bible  with  the  scholars  there.  Twice  she  said  she 
would  not  go,  although  offered  more  money  each  time. 
At  last  the  authorities  said:  “We  must  have  you  in  our 
school ; you  may  do  what  you  like ; you  may  teach  the 
Bible — only  you  must  come.”  Some  Christian  girls, 
after  leaving  school,  study  in  the  women’s  hospitals 
and  become  nurses  and  doctors.  At  first  they  help  the 
missionary  lady  doctors,  and  afterwards,  in  some  cases, 
they  earn  their  living  by  going  out  to  care  for  sick  women 
and  children.  Thus  Christianity  has  opened  up  a new 
way  by  which  women  may  support  themselves  in 
China. 

When  they  are  tiny  little  children  girls  are  often 
engaged  to  be  married  and  go  to  live  in  their  future 
husbands’  homes.  They  are  married,  too,  when  very 
young.  Sometimes  a little  girl  is  told  only  a short 
time  before  that  she  is  to  be  sent  away  in  a great  red 
chair  and  become  somebody’s  wife  in  another  home. 
Poor  little  thing,  she  is  often  very  frightened  and 
unwilling  to  go. 

The  story  of  Pink  Jade  will  help  you  to  understand 


GIRLS 


35 


about  girls’  marriages  in  China.  The  first  hint  she 
had  of  what  was  going  to  happen  was  when  an  old 
woman,  called  the  ‘ go-between/  came  to  her  father’s 
house  with  a silver  bracelet  and  some  hair  ornaments 
for  her,  as  a present  from  her  future  husband’s  family. 
A paper  stamped  with  a dragon  had  already  been  sent 
to  her  parents,  giving  a description  of  the  young  man 
she  was  to  marry,  and  a paper  stamped  with  a phoenix, 
giving  a description  of  herself,  had  been  sent  in  ex- 
change. 

Pink  Jade’s  father  gave  her  many  nice  clothes  and 
dresses,  five  pairs  of  embroidered  shoes,  three  pairs  of 
red  wooden  heels,  seven  pairs  of  silver  finger-rings, 
bracelets  and  hair  ornaments.  These  gifts  were  packed 
in  four  red  boxes  and  a dressing-case.  Then  there  was 
some  bedding  in  a red  box,  five  washing  tubs,  a ward- 
robe, a table  and  two  red  lanterns.  On  her  wedding- 
day  Pink  Jade  was  dressed  in  black  trousers  and 
petticoat  trimmed  with  embroidery,  an  embroidered 
green  satin  jacket,  a beautiful  head-band,  the  gift  of 
her  mother-in-law,  and  many  hair  ornaments.  Before 
she  left  her  home  a thick  veil  of  red  and  gold,  about  a 
foot  square,  was  fastened  to  her  head-band  by  a few 
stitches. 

A little  before  noon  the  great  red  chair,  in  which 
she  had  been  carried  by  several  men,  drew  near  to  the 
bridegroom’s  house.  The  burden-bearers  now  went 
on  in  front  with  the  red  boxes  and  other  things,  the 
little  bride  following  behind  in  her  chair,  attended  by 
the  ‘ go-between,’  and  four  men  carrying  lanterns. 

It  was  a shy  little  maiden  that  entered  the  new 
home ; then  came  the  ceremony  of  bride  and  bridegroom 
together  worshipping  heaven  and  earth,  after  which 
they  bowed  down  before  the  bridegroom’s  parents  and 
their  ancestral  tablets.  'Some  hours  later,  the  husband 


36 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


cut  the  stitches  of  the  veil,  and  for  the  first  time 
saw  the  face  of  his  bride.  She  did  not  see  him,  how- 
ever, for  she  dared  not  lift  her  eyes.  Crowds  of  women 
from  among  the  guests  and  neighbours  came  to  look 
at  her,  saying  very  freely  if  they  thought  the  bride 
pretty  or  ugly,  which  it  is  considered  quite  polite  to 
do  at  weddings.  Later  in  the  evening  she  was  shown 
to  the  men  friends  of  the  family,  who  repeated  good 
wishes  in  verse,  the  poor  little  bride  having  to  stand 
all  the  time  while  this  and  the  other  ceremonies  were 
gone  through. 

On  the  second  day  Pink  Jade  had  to  cook  a meal 
and  wash  some  clothes,  to  show  she  understood  her 
new  duties.  Her  mother  and  sisters-in-law  were 
pleased  with  the  little  bride,  so  she  was  happy  in  her 
new  home.  But  before  very  long  her  husband  went 
abroad,  coming  back  to  China  only  now  and  then. 

When  but  a little  girl  of  ten  years  old,  Pink  Jade 
had  gone  with  her  grandmother  to  live  in  a city  where 
there  was  a Christian  church.  She  was  curious  to  see 
what  happened  inside  the  church,  so  she  went  to  service 
there  several  times ; but  the  singing,  reading  and  pray- 
ing all  seemed  strange  to  her,  for  she  did  not  understand 
what  they  meant.  Her  husband  had  also  been  in 
church  when  young,  but  he  did  not  like  the  ‘ new 
religion/  and  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  worship- 
ping God. 

But  it  happened  that  after  she  was  married,  Pink 
Jade  took  ill  and  went  to  the  Mission  Hospital  at 
Swatow,  where  she  heard  about  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  how  He  came  to  save  sinners  from  their  sins.  She 
became  so  much  interested  that  she  persuaded  her 
husband  to  attend  the  services  in  the  Hospital  chapel, 
and  before  long  he  himself  believed  in  Jesus  Christ, 
and  was  received  into  the  church  by  baptism.  Pink 


GAMES  AND  RIDDLES  37 

Jade  learned  to  read  and  in  time  gave  her  heart,  too, 
to  God’s  service.1 

Here  is  a simple  rime  which  girls  learn  to  repeat, 
so  that  they  may  know  what  to  do,  when  afterwards 
they  go  as  brides  to  their  new  homes. 

“Bamboos  thick,  thick  arise, 

Child  in  wifely  love  be  wise, 

Late  take  rest,  soon,  soon  rise, 

Wake,  comb  your  hair, 

Adorn  your  face,  lips,  eyes  ; 

Chairs,  tables,  dust  in  hall, 

Wash  kitchen  dishes  all, 

In  chamber  sewing  fall. 

Praise  brothers,  great  and  small, 

Father,  mother,  worthy  call, 

Praise  your  home,  both  roof  and  wall, 

Praise  your  lucky  husband  tall.” 

In  China,  as  in  other  lands,  the  Gospel  of  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  brings  new  love  and  new  happiness  to 
girls  and  women  alike.  It  frees  them  from  being 
despised  and  ill-treated,  and  gives  them  their  true  place 
in  the  home,  for  it  teaches  men  that  “ there  is  neither 
bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  nor  female ; for  ye 
are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus.” 


CHAPTER  VI 

GAMES  AND  RIDDLES 

Chinese  children  are  kept  so  busy  at  work  or  study 
that  a stranger  might  at  first  be  tempted  to  think 
their  lives  were  all  work  and  no  play.  In  time,  how- 
ever, one  discovers  that  they  have  many  kinds  of 
amusements. 

A favourite  game  is  played  with  a ball  of  tightly 

1 Mrs  Lyall,  in  The  Children's  Messenger. 


38 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


wound  cotton  thread,  which  is  bounced  upon  the  pave- 
ment, the  player  trying  to  whirl  round  as  often  as 
possible,  before  giving  another  pat  to  make  it  jump 
again.  Boys  are  fond  of  ‘ kicking  the  shuttlecock.’ 
They  are  wonderfully  clever  with  their  feet,  and  send 
the  shuttlecock  flying  from  one  to  another,  turning, 
dodging,  leaning  this  way  and  that,  so  as  to  kick  freely. 
The  shuttlecock  is  kept  on  the  wing  for  a long  time  in 
this  way  without  once  falling  to  the  ground.  They 
play  tipcat  too,  but  their  game  is  more  difficult  than 
ours.  ‘ Knuckle-bones ' and  a guessing  game, 
played  with  the  fingers,  like  the  Italian  Mora,  are  also 
favourite  amusements. 

Another  game  is  * tiger  trap/  To  play  it,  a 
number  of  boys  and  girls  take  hands  and  stand  in  two 
lines,  facing  each  other.  One  waits  at  the  end  of  the 
double  row  of  children  and  bleats,  as  a kid  does  in  a 
trap  set  for  Mr  Stripes.  Then  the  tiger  darts  in 
between  the  lines  to  catch  the  kid.  The  moment  he 
does  so,  the  children  at  the  ends  close  up.  Unless  the 
tiger  bounces  out  very  quickly  he  is  caught  and  the 
kid  runs  away. 

There  are  several  kinds  of  blind  man’s  buff.  One  is 
called  ‘ Catching  fishes  in  the  dark.’  Each  child 
chooses  the  name  of  a fish,  calling  himself  dragon- 
shrimp,  squid,  red  chicken,  or  some  other  kind  of  fish. 
The  boy  who  is  to  be  ‘ he  ’ is  blinded.  Then  the 
fishes  run  past,  trying  to  touch  the  blind  man  as  they 
go.  If  one  gets  caught  ‘ he  ’ must  name  it  rightly. 
If  ‘ he  ’ names  the  wrong  fish,  away  runs  the  boy. 
Another  kind  is  ‘ Call  the  chickens  home.’  In  this 
game  the  blind  man  says  ‘ Tsoo,  tsoo,  come  seek  your 
mother,’  then  the  other  children,  who  are  the  chickens, 
run  up  and  try  to  touch  him  without  being  caught.  If 
one  is  caught  he  becomes  blind  man. 


GAMES  AND  RIDDLES 


39 


When  playing  ‘ Eating  fishes’  heads  and  tails/ 
several  children  take  hold  of  each  other’s  jackets  to 
form  the  fish.  The  first  one  is  the  head,  which  is 
supposed  to  be  too  fierce  to  be  captured;  the  last  one 
is  the  tail  which  may  be  seized  and  eaten.  One  of  the 
players  stands  by  himself.  Suddenly  he  begins  to 
chase  the  fish,  trying  to  catch  its  tail.  Every  time 
he  makes  a rush  the  head  of  the  fish  faces  round,  and 
the  players,  forming  the  tail,  swing  to  one  side  to  avoid 
being  caught,  as  in  our  ‘ Fox  and  chickens.’ 

Kite  flying  is  an  amusement  of  which  boys  as  well 
as  grown  men  are  very  fond.  Little  toddlers  begin 
with  tiny  kites,  cleverly  made  out  of  folded  paper,  but 
the  older  boys  are  more  ambitious.  Some  of  their 
kites  are  made  to  look  like  birds  and  have  a bow, 
strung  with  a thin  flat  strip  of  bamboo,  tied  behind  the 
wings.  When  the  bird  rises  in  the  wind  it  hovers  like 
a living  thing,  and  the  strip  of  bamboo  buzzes  with  a 
loud  humming  noise.  Others  are  shaped  like  butter- 
flies, centipedes,  and  other  creatures.  One  of  the  most 
beautiful  kites  is  shaped  like  a fish,  so  as  to  curve  and 
sway  in  the  air,  much  as  a fish  does  in  water. 

There  are  several  games  played  with  cash,  one  in 
which  the  coins  are  thrown  into  a hole  scooped  by  the 
roadside;  another  in  which  they  are  struck  against  a 
wall,  so  as  to  rebound  and  fall  beside  a certain  mark 
on  the  ground,  but  these,  as  a rule,  are  a kind  of 
gambling. 

Here  are  names  of  some  other  games  which  may 
interest  you:  ‘Threading  the  needle’;  ‘Waiting  for 
the  seeker,’  a game  like  ‘ I spy  ’ ; ‘ Hopping  race  ’ ; 
‘ Let  the  prince  cross  over  ’ ; ‘ Circling  the  field  to 
catch  the  rat  ’ ; ‘ The  mud  turtle  ’ and  ‘ The  water 
demon  seeking  for  a den,’  which  is  played  by  five 
children,  but  otherwise  is  like  ‘ Puss  in  the  corner.’ 


40  CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 

‘ Sawing  wood  ’ is  just  ‘ Cat’s  cradle  ’ under  another 
name. 

The  children  often  play  at ' worshipping  the  idols.’ 
For  a few  cash  they  buy  a painted  clay  idol,  about  two 
inches  high,  which  they  carry  on  a small  bamboo  stool, 
by  means  of  two  sticks.  One  child  goes  in  front,  one 
behind,  with  the  ends  of  the  sticks  upon  their  shoulders. 
Others  beat  a tiny  brass  gong  and  carry  a burning  stick 
of  incense.  Then  they  offer  a shrimp,  a small  fish 
and  some  other  things  as  a sacrifice. 

In  the  warm  wTeather  you  may  be  sure  that  the  boys 
and  girls  take  a large  share  in  the  fun  wrhen  their 
fathers  and  brothers  send  up  fire-balloons.  These  rise 
in  the  night  sky  until  they  look  like  yellow  moons 
floating  over  the  city.  Sometimes  a balloon  catches 
fire,  flames  for  a minute,  and  then  only  a falling  spark 
shows  wdiere  its  ashes  go  tumbling  to  the  ground. 

The  Chinese  have  many  riddles  which  grown  people 
as  well  as  children  play  at  guessing. 

Here  are  some  for  you  to  try  your  wits  upon. 

“ It  wras  bom  in  a mountain  forest.  It  died  in  an 
earthen  chamber.  Its  soul  dispersed  to  the  four 
winds.  And  its  bones  are  laid  out  for  sale.” 

“ In  a very  small  house  there  live  five  little  girls.” 
" On  his  head  he  has  a helmet.  His  body  is  covered 
with  armour.  Kill  him  and  you  will  find  no  blood, 
open  him  and  you  will  find  his  flesh.” 

" On  the  outside  is  a stone  wall.  In  the  inside 
there  is  a small  golden  lady.” 

“ It  takes  aw^ay  the  courage  of  a demon.  Its  sound 
is  like  that  of  thunder.  It  frightens  men  so  that  they 
drop  their  chopsticks.  When  one  turns  one’s  head 
round  to  look  at  it,  lo!  it  is  all  turned  into  smoke.” 

“ There  are  two  sisters  of  equal  size;  one  sits  inside, 
the  other  outside.” 


I 


CHILDREN  AT  FOOD  AND  AT  PLAY 


GAMES  AND  RIDDLES  41 

I 

“ In  the  front  are  five  openings;  on  the  sides  are 
two  windows;  behind  hangs  an  onion  stalk/’ 

“ What  is  it  that  sits  very  low  and  eats  more  grass 
than  a buffalo?  ” 

Here  are  the  answers:  Charcoal,  a shoe,  a shrimp, 
an  egg,  a cannon,  a looking-glass,  a Chinaman’s  head, 
a Chinese  kitchen  range  (which  is  generally  heated  with 
fern  and  grass). 

Sometimes  riddles  are  painted  on  lanterns  and  hung 
in  front  of  a shop  for  people  to  guess:  whoever 

succeeds  in  guessing  right  wins  a small  prize. 

Chinese  boys  and  girls  have  a sweet  tooth.  When- 
ever they  have  cash  to  do  so,  they  buy  sugar-cane, 
peanut  candy  and  biscuits,  some  of  which  are  flavoured 
with  sugared  kui  flowers,  which  give  them  a delicious 
taste.  When  the  man  who  sells  candied  peaches  and 
other  fruit  appears,  boys  and  girls  come  hopping  out 
of  the  houses  at  the  sound  of  his  bell,  and  each  one 
hunts  in  his  little  pocket  for  cash,  or  begs  a few  from 
his  mother,  to  buy  some  favourite  dainty. 

The  children  are  filled  with  glee  whenever  a feast 
with  plays  is  given  at  their  home.  They  are  not  allowed 
to  sit  at  the  feast,  nor  are  they  supposed  to  look  on  at 
the  plays,  but  they  have  a good  share  of  what  is  going. 
As  the  unfinished  dishes  are  carried  from  the  tables, 
one  after  the  other,  the  servants  and  children  have  a 
feast  of  their  own  outside.  Long  before  the  plays 
begin,  the  children  watch  the  erection  of  the  stage  in  the 
court  or  in  the  street  outside  the  house,  and  examine 
the  masks  and  dresses  as  they  are  taken  out  of  their 
boxes  and  hung  up  ready  for  use. 

When  the  music  strikes  up  they  choose  knowing 
corners,  from  which  to  peep  past  the  shoulders  and 
over  the  heads  of  the  big  people.  They  love  to  see  the 
actors  dressed  like  famous  heroes  who  lived  long  ago, 


42 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


although  they  cannot  recognise  the  boys  now  beneath 
their  red  and  black  masks,  long  beards  and  rich  robes. 
How  the  music  clamours  and  the  drums  beat  and  the 
rattles  clatter.  Warriors  shout  and  stamp,  fine  ladies 
wave  their  fans.  When  fighting  begins  upon  the  stage 
it  would  be  difficult  indeed  to  catch  the  boys  among 
the  crowd,  to  send  them  to  bed ! 


CHAPTER  VII 

STORIES  AND  RIMES 

One  of  the  best  ways  to  know  boys  and  girls  is  to  learn 
something  of  the  stories  they  like  to  hear  and  tell. 
Here  are  one  or  two  which  will  help  you  to  understand 
our  friends  the  Chinese  children  much  better  than 
pages  of  talk  about  their  looks  and  ways. 

First,  there  is  the  story  of  how  the  yellow  cow  and 
the  water  buffalo  exchanged  their  skins.  You  must 
know  that  the  yellow  cow  has  a fold  of  skin  which  hangs 
loose  beneath  her  neck,  and  a loud  bellow,  whfie  the 
buffalo  has  a tight  grey  skin,  that  looks  some  sizes  too 
small  for  his  great  round  body,  and  a tiny  wheezing 
voice,  which  sounds  strangely  coming  from  so  large  a 
beast.  Long  ago  the  buffalo  was  yellow  and  his  skin 
fitted  well  enough,  while  the  cow  was  grey.  Now  it 
happened  that  one  hot  day  the  cow  and  the  buffalo 
went  to  bathe  in  the  river,  leaving  their  clothes  upon 
the  bank,  while  they  enjoyed  themselves  in  the  cool, 
green  water.  Presently  there  was  a roar,  which  told 
them  that  the  tiger  was  coming.  Out  of  the  water  they 
dashed,  and  the  cow,  being  the  nimbler  of  the  two, 
scrambled  up  the  bank  ahead  of  the  buffalo.  In  her 


STORIES  AND  RIMES 


43 


haste  she  picked  up  the  first  heap  of  clothes  which  she 
came  to  and  began  putting  them  on,  hopping  into  them 
one  leg  at  a time  between  the  steps  as  she  ran.  The 
buffalo  was  not  far  behind,  but  so  frightened  lest 
the  tiger  should  catch  him,  that  he  did  not  notice  that 
the  cow  had  run  off  with  his  clothes.  He  picked  up  hers 
and  struggled  into  them  somehow,  then  he  ran  for  his 
life.  He  never  was  very  bright,  but  blown  by  running 
and  frightened  though  he  was,  he  soon  noticed  that  his 
jacket  was  very  tight  and  that  it  was  the  wrong  colour. 
There  was  the  cow  running  in  front  of  him,  and  he  could 
see  that  she  had  put  on  his  nice  yellow  suit.  He 
wished  her  to  stop  and  give  him  back  his  clothes,  but 
the  tiger  was  somewhere  in  the  woods  not  far  behind 
them.  So  they  ran  and  they  ran  until  at  last  they 
were  safe  from  pursuit. 

As  the  cow  slowed  her  pace  the  buffalo  overtook 
her.  Before  he  had  quite  made  up  to  her  he  tried  to 
shout  out,  “ Give  me  back  my  clothes,"  but  he  felt 
so  tight  and  puffed  so  hard  that  he  could  not  speak. 
He  was  very  stiff  about  the  ribs  and  a little  angry,  so 
instead  of  attempting  a long  sentence  he  tried  to  say, 
“ Oan,"  one  word  only,  which  means  “ change."  All 
he  could  get  out,  however,  was  “ Eh-ah,  eh-ah,"  in  a 
wheezy  little  voice. 

The  cow  understood  his  meaning  well  enough,  but 
she  felt  so  comfortable  in  her  new  yellow  skin  that  she 
only  answered  “ M-ah,  m-ah,"  “ I won’t,  I won’t." 

And  so  the  buffalo  has  been  wheezing  “ Change, 
change,"  and  the  yellow  cow  has  been  mooing  “ I 
won’t,  I won’t,"  ever  since. 

Here  is  another  ‘ just-so  ’ story,  which  tells  how  the 
deer  lost  his  tail.  Long  ago  an  old  man  and  his  wife  lived 
in  a lonely  cottage  upon  a hill  not  far  from  forests 
and  rocky  places  where  wild  beasts  had  their  holes. 


44 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


One  night,  when  the  man  and  his  wife  had  finished 
their  supper,  they  were  talking  together,  as  they  often 
did  before  going  to  bed.  In  the  course  of  their  talk 
the  old  man  happened  to  say:  “ How  happy  we  are 
in  our  cottage  upon  this  hill  far  from  the  city  where 
thieves  and  beggars  bother  and  policemen  frighten 
people.  We  do  not  fear  thieves  nor  policemen,  nor 
tigers  nor  demons,  nor  anything  at  all,  unless  it  be  the 
Lio — yes,  we  need  not  fear  anything  but  the  Lio.” 

There  was  a hush  in  the  cottager’s  voice  when  he 
spoke  the  last  words,  and  when  he  had  spoken  them, 
both  he  and  his  wife  were  quiet  for  quite  a long  time. 
Now  it  chanced  that  a tiger,  which  had  crept  down 
from  his  cave  under  one  of  the  blue  peaks  of  the  moun- 
tain overhead,  was  prowling  round  the  cottage  whilst 
they  were  talking  together,  hoping  to  pick  up  the 
watch-dog  or  a fat  pig,  before  setting  out  for  a hunt  in 
the  valleys  far  below.  Hearing  the  sound  of  voices,  he 
stopped  outside  the  door.  The  family  dog,  who  was 
far  too  wise  to  be  out  at  night  near  the  edge  of  the 
forest,  smelt  him  and  crept  into  the  corner  of  the  room 
furthest  from  the  door,  under  the  bedstead.  He  dared 
not  growl  or  whimper.  There  he  lay,  his  brown  hair 
bristling  over  his  shoulders,  and  he  breathed  so 
quietly  that  the  young  mice  in  their  hole  by  the  wall 
were  sure  that  he  was  dead,  although  their  little  grey 
mother  knew  better. 

At  the  moment  the  tiger  began  to  listen  to  the 
talking  inside  the  cottage  the  old  man  was  saying: 
“ We  not  do  fear  thieves  nor  policemen,  nor  tigers  nor 
demons,  nor  anything  at  all,  unless  it  be  the  Lio.” 
There  was  something  in  the  way  he  spoke  the  last  words 
and  in  the  way  he  stopped  after  saying  them,  which 
showed  that  he  really  was  afraid  of  the  Lio.  The 
tiger,  who  had  never  heard  of  a Lio,  wondered  what  it 


STORIES  AND  RIMES 


45 


could  be,  so  he  lay  down  quietly  outside  the  door  to 
listen,  hoping  to  hear  more  about  the  terrible  beast 
which  frightened  people  brave  enough  to  fear  neither 
tigers  nor  thieves  nor  demons.  All  was  dark  and  the 
hill  side  was  very  still.  Behind  the  cottage  a thief, 
who  had  come  to  rob  the  lonely  couple,  was  crouching 
close  to  the  wall.  He  too  heard  the  old  man  talking 
about  the  Lio  and  wondered  what  the  terrible  creature 
could  be  like.  Presently  he  crept  round  the  side  of  the 
cottage.  The  tiger  noticed  a sound  coming  moving 
through  the  darkness.  It  was  the  thief.  Though  he 
slipped  along  as  quietly  as  a pussy  cat  the  tiger  heard 
him  with  his  wonderful  wild-beast’s  ears.  Dark  as  it 
was  when  the  thief  crept  round  to  the  front  wall,  he 
felt,  rather  than  saw,  that  there  was  something  lying 
beside  the  door  of  the  little  house.  “ Good  luck!  ” he 
thought  to  himself.  “ This  is  the  old  man’s  cow.”  It 
was  impossible  to  see,  so  he  stole  up  gently  to  try  to  find 
out  what  the  creature  might  be.  He  put  out  his  hand 
to  feel,  and  touched  the  tiger.  In  a moment  he  knew 
that  this  was  no  cow.  Its  hair  was  harsh  and  its 
muscles  like  iron  bands.  Could  it  be — surely  it  could 
not  be — the  dreadful  creature  of  which  he  had  just 
been  hearing.  Reckless  as  he  was,  the  thief  felt  his 
heart  stand  still.  Next  moment  he  jumped  to  one  side, 
climbed  the  wall  of  the  cottage,  and  hid  on  the  roof. 

Meantime  the  tiger,  making  sure  that  the  unseen 
thing,  which  had  come  upon  him  in  the  darkness,  was 
nothing  less  than  the  Lio  itself,  got  up  and  fled.  He 
ran  and  he  ran,  until  he  met  a deer  in  the  forest.  The 
deer  drew  respectfully  to  the  side  of  the  path,  as  in 
duty  bound  when  meeting  his  betters.  “ Where  does 
his  Excellency  come  from  in  such  a hurry?  ” he  in- 
quired in  rather  a timid  voice. 

“ Oh!  from  nowhere,  from  nowhere  at  all,” 


46 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


answered  the  tiger,  a little  bit  confused  by  what  had 
just  happened.  Then  he  recovered  himself  and  told 
the  deer  how  a terrible  beast,  called  the  Lio,  had 
touched  him  in  the  dark. 

“ A Lio,  your  Excellency ! Why,  I never  even  heard 
of  a Lio,”  said  the  deer  in  great  surprise.  “ What  is  it 
like?  ” 

“ A Lio  is  very  clever,”  said  the  tiger;  “ it  climbs 
houses  and  comes  on  you  in  the  dark.  If  you  would 
like  to  know  more  about  it  I will  take  you  to  where  it 
is.  Come,  let  us  go  together.” 

“ But  the  Lio  will  catch  me,  your  Excellency,  I am 
but  a weak  creature,”  said  the  deer,  drawing  back  a 
little,  for  he  did  not  wish  to  be  gobbled  up.  He  never 
had  known  the  tiger  so  quiet  and  polite  before,  and  he 
could  see  by  the  gleam  of  the  great  green  eyes,  even 
in  the  dark,  that  his  companion  was  turning  his  head 
every  now  and  then,  as  if  he  thought  the  Lio  might 
come  gliding  through  the  forest  to  spring  upon  them 
at  any  moment. 

“ Don’t  be  afraid,”  said  the  tiger,  growing  braver 
at  the  thought  of  having  a companion  to  go  back  with 
him,  “ I will  take  care  of  you.” 

“ But,  your  Excellency,  the  Lio  will  come  and  you 
will  run  away  and  leave  me  to  be  caught,”  answered 
the  deer. 

“ Oh,  no,  we  can  tie  our  tails  together,  and  then  it 
will  be  all  right,”  said  the  tiger.  For  you  must  know 
that  at  that  time  the  deer’s  tail  was  much  longer  than  it 
is  now. 

“ Tie  our  tails  together  and  both  get  caught  at 
once,”  gasped  the  deer,  so  surprised  that  he  forgot  to 
be  polite. 

“Not  at  all,”  said  the  tiger,  with  a little  growl  in 
his  voice.  “ When  the  Lio  comes  I will  ‘ put  forth  my 


STORIES  AND  RIMES  47 

strength  ’ and  pull  you  away  with  a whisk  before  it 
can  get  hold  of  you.,, 

‘'Ha!  ha!  ha!”  laughed  the  deer,  his  spotted 
sides  shaking  until  the  white  marks  danced  again, 
“ what  a clever  plan.” 

So  the  deer  and  the  tiger  tied  their  tails  together, 
and  set  off  to  look  for  the  Lio.  They  had  to  walk 
carefully  through  the  forest,  because  the  bushes  and 
trees  would  get  between  them,  and  as  they  went  along 
they  talked  in  whispers  about  the  Lio,  until  the  deer 
felt  creepy  all  over.  At  last  they  reached  the  edge  of 
the  wood,  where  they  could  just  make  out  the  black 
cottage  looking  very  dark  against  the  sky.  A branch 
cracked  as  they  passed  under  the  last  tree. 

The  thief,  who  was  still  crouching  on  the  roof  of  the 
cottage,  took  fright  at  the  sound,  and  making  sure  that 
the  terrible  beast  he  had  heard  of  was  coming  back, 
jumped  down  from  the  tiles,  narrowly  missing  the  deer 
as  he  reached  the  ground. 

“ Help,  help,  your  Excellency,  the  Lio!  ” cried  the 
deer,  terrified  by  something,  he  knew  not  what, 
coming  tumbling  out  of  the  night.  The  tiger  ‘ put  forth 
his  strength  ’ and  gave  a great  spring,  when  crack ! the 
deer’s  tail  broke  off  close  by  the  root.  The  thief  ran, 
the  tiger  sprang,  the  deer  bounded  away,  in  different 
directions,  each  thinking  that  the  terrible  Lio  was 
close  at  his  heels.  But  the  Lio  none  of  them  ever  saw. 
What  was  strangest  of  all,  the  old  man  and  his  wife, 
who  never  had  seen  a Lio  in  all  their  lives,  went  quietly 
to  bed  that  night  without  an  idea  of  what  was  hap- 
pening outside  in  the  dark.  And  now  you  know  why 
the  deer  has  only  a white  tuft  sticking  up,  where  his 
beautiful  long  tail  used  to  be. 

The  following  story  about  a bird  is  a favourite  one 
with  boys  and  girls  in  some  parts  of  China. 


48 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 

There  is  a little  grey  bird,  called  the  Bean  bird, 
which  pipes  a sad  note  in  the  spring.  Its  cry  is  said 
to  be  like  the  Chinese  words  for  “ Little  brother,  little 
brother,  are  you  there?  ” According  to  the  story  a 
man,  who  had  one  son,  married  again  and  had  another 
little  boy.  The  second  son’s  mother  hated  the  elder 
brother  and  wished  very  much  to  get  rid  of  him  so  that 
her  own  child  might  enjoy  the  family  property.  Again 
and  again  she  did  her  best  to  get  the  poor  lad  into 
trouble  with  his  father,  and  too  often  she  succeeded. 

One  day  in  spring  when  the  farmers  were  busy 
putting  their  crops  into  the  ground  she  found  some 
beans  in  a flat  basket  with  which  the  elder  brother 
was  going  to  sow  his  field.  The  boy  was  nowhere  to 
be  seen,  so  she  popped  his  beans  into  the  empty  rice 
boiler,  and  putting  some  grass  into  the  fireplace  below, 
heated  them  until  those  tiny  parts  which  turn  into  buds 
and  sprout  under  the  soil  were  killed.  Then  she  put 
the  beans  back  into  their  basket  and  left  them  to  cool. 
The  boy  knew  nothing  of  all  this,  but  the  younger  son, 
who  dearly  loved  his  elder  brother,  noticed  what  had 
been  done,  and  hoping  to  save  him  a scolding,  quietly 
put  his  own  beans  into  the  basket  and  took  the  roasted 
ones  to  use  himself.  Then  they  went  to  the  fields  and 
each  one  sowed  his  plot  of  ground.  After  a time  their 
mother  sent  the  boys  to  see  how  the  crops  were  doing. 
“ If  the  beans  have  not  sprouted  in  either  of  your 
fields  you  need  not  come  home  again,”  said  she.  “ We 
do  not  wish  to  have  useless,  lazy  children  in  this  house.” 

The  elder  brother’s  little  field  was  covered  with 
green  plants,  so  he  went  gleefully  home  and  told  his 
stepmother.  The  younger  brother’s  plot  was  brown 
and  bare,  not  a bean  had  come  up  through  the  soil. 
He  knew  there  would  be  trouble  for  his  brother  if  he 
went  home,  so  he  started  off  for  the  mountains,  hoping 


STORIES  AND  RIMES 


49 


that  his  elder  brother  would  be  left  in  peace  if  he  were 
gone.  He  wandered  away  and  away,  until  at  length 
a tiger  found  him  and  ate  him  up. 

The  stepmother  was  vexed  when  her  son  did  not 
come  home  from  the  fields,  and  with  many  threats  and 
angry  speeches  sent  the  elder  boy  to  go  and  look  for 
him.  The  lad,  who  was  anxious  to  find  his  companion, 
went  everywhere  calling,  “ Little  brother,  little 
brother,  are  you  there?  ” The  workers  on  the  upland 
farms  and  the  grass-cutters  on  the  hills,  heard  his  voice 
floating  faint  and  far,  as  he  wandered  farther  and 
farther  away.  Now  it  was  here,  now  there,  always 
calling  the  same  sad  cry,  “ Little  brother,  little  brother, 
are  you  there?  ” 

When  he  could  find  him  nowhere  he  knelt  down  in 
his  despair  and  prayed  Heaven  to  show  him  where  his 
brother  was.  As  he  prayed  and  wept  he  knocked  his 
head  upon  the  ground.  His  head  struck  a stone,  the 
blood  ran  and  he  died.  The  blood  which  flowed  from 
his  wound  was  changed  into  a little  grey  bird,  and  every 
year,  when  the  beans  are  sprouting  in  the  fields,  the 
bird  comes  with  its  plaintive  cry,  now  near,  now  far, 
“ Little  brother,  little  brother,  are  you  there?  ” WThen 
the  children  hear  its  call  they  say,  “ Rain  is  coming,” 
and  surely  enough  the  drops  begin  to  fall  before  long, 
as  if  the  skies  remembered  an  ancient  wrong  and  wept 
for  sorrow. 

There  are  many  stories  of  children  famous  in  China 
long  ago.  Here  is  one  which  shows  how  even  a little 
child  may  care  for  others,  thinking  and  acting  wisely 
in  time  of  danger. 

Many  hundreds  of  years  ago,  in  the  time  of  the 
Sung  Dynasty,  a boy  named  Sze  Ma  Rung  was  playing 
with  some  other  boys  and  girls.  When  the  fun  was 
at  its  height,  one  of  the  party  fell  into  a great  big  jar  of 

D 


50 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


water.  The  children  were  so  frightened  that  they  all 
ran  away,  except  Sze  Ma  Kung,  who  at  once  went 
to  try  what  he  could  do  to  save  his  companion.  The 
edge  of  the  jar  was  too  high  for  him  to  reach  over,  so  the 
little  fellow  could  not  get  at  the  sinking  child,  to  pull 
him  out  of  the  water.  There  was  no  time  to  fetch  a 
stool  or  call  for  help ; another  moment  and  the  prisoner 
would  be  drowned.  A good  idea  struck  him.  He 
rushed  off,  and  picking  up  as  large  a stone  as  he 
could  carry  he  dashed  it  against  the  side  of  the  jar. 
Crack  went  the  pot  and  a great  hole  opened,  through 
which  the  water  all  ran  away.  Then  the  child  crept 
out  like  a half-drowned  puppy,  but  not  much  the 
worse  for  his  drenching.  When  people  heard  of 
what  Sze  Ma  Kung  had  done,  they  knew  that  if  he 
lived  to  grow  up  he  would  be  a useful  man,  wise  and 
thoughtful  and  quick  to  help  others. 

Stories  are  told  of  children  diligent  at  their  books, 
who  were  famous  in  after  life.  One  lad,  who  was  too 
poor  to  buy  oil  for  his  lamp,  used  to  catch  fire- 
flies and  read  by  the  pale-green  light  they  gave.  He 
put  the  fire-flies  inside  a tiny  muslin  bag,  which  he 
laid  upon  the  page  of  his  book,  the  light  which  they  gave 
being  just  enough  to  let  him  follow  his  lesson,  line  by 
line.  Another  used  to  read  by  the  light  reflected  from 
snow,  as  the  day  failed,  or  when  the  moon  rose.  A third 
used  to  fasten  his  book  to  the  horn  of  the  cow  he  was 
tending,  so  as  to  use  the  precious  hours  for  study; 
while  a fourth  tied  his  queue  to  a rafter  of  the  low  roof 
above  his  head,  so  that  when  he  became  drowsy  and 
nodded  over  his  lesson,  he  might  be  wakened  by  the 
pain  of  having  his  hair  pulled. 

Another  kind  of  story  helps  to  fix  the  written  ' char- 
acters ’ in  schoolboys’  memories.  One  of  these  tells 
how  a scholar,  called  Li  An-i,  went  to  visit  a rich  boor 


STORIES  AND  RIMES 


51 


named  Ti  Shing.  When  he  reached  the  house  and  asked 
for  the  gentleman,  a message  was  brought  that  he 
was  not  at  home.  Li  An-i  knew  that  this  was  not 
true,  so  he  wrote  the  character  for  ' afternoon  * on 
the  door  of  Mr  Ti's  house  and  went  away.  When 
asked  why  he  had  done  so,  he  said  that  the  character 
for  afternoon  meant  ‘ the  ox  not  putting  out  its 
head.’  When  you  know  that  the  character  for  after- 
noon is  the  same  as  the  one  for  ox,  but  without  the 
dot  which  makes  the  head  of  it,  and  that  a stupid 
person  is  called  an  ox  in  China,  much  as  he  would  be 
called  an  ass  at  home,  you  will  understand  Mr  Li’s 
joke.  He  meant  that  the  man,  who  had  not  ‘ put 
out  his  head  ’ to  see  him,  was  a stupid  ox. 

There  are  plenty  of  nursery  rimes  in  China, 
one  or  two  of  which  will  show  you  that  Chinese  children 
are  very  much  like  our  own.  Here  is  one  about  our 
old  friends  the  sparrows. 

“A  pair  of  sparrows  with  four  bright  eyes, 

Four  small  feet  that  pop,  pop  so, 

Four  wings  whirr,  whirr,  how  they  go  ! 

Pecking  rice  and  grain  likewise.” 

Another  reminds  us  a little  of  the  pig  that  would 
not  get  over  the  stile. 

“A  bit  of  copper  fell  out  of  the  sky, 

And  hit  an  old  man  as  he  passed  by. 

When  the  man  began  to  jog, 

He  struck  against  a dog. 

When  the  dog  began  to  yell, 

It  struck  against  a mill. 

When  the  mill  began  to  fall, 

It  struck  against  a hall. 

When  the  hall  began  to  build, 

It  struck  against  a stool. 

When  the  stool  began  to  sit, 

It  struck  against  a sheet. 

When  the  sheet  began  to  tuck, 

It  struck  against  a duck. 


52 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


When  the  duck  began  to  wade, 

It  struck  against  a blade. 

When  the  blade  began  to  cut, 

It  struck  against  a hat. 

When  the  hat  began  to  wear, 

Catch  the  thief  and  slit  his  ear.’5 

The  following  verse,  which  is  often  shouted  by 
boisterous  little  scholars,  pokes  fun  at  a greedy 
schoolmaster,  who  has  lost  the  respect  of  his  pupils. 
The  first  and  third  lines  are  from  the  Three  Character 
Classic , the  first  book  a child  learns;  the  others  are  hits 
at  the  master. 

“ ‘ Primal  man’s  condition,’ 

Teacher  sly  steals  chicken. 

‘ Good  at  root  was  his  heart,’ 

Teacher’s  nicking  gizzard. 

The  boys  won’t  touch  a book, 

Roll  teacher  in  the  brook.” 

The  boys  and  girls  of  China  are  learning  the  stories 
of  Joseph,  Samuel  and  Jonathan,  of  John  the  Baptist 
and  of  Peter.  They  read  the  Pilgrim  s Progress, 
Jessica’s  First  Prayer,  Christie’s  Old  Organ  and  many 
another  favourite,  which  has  been  put  into  the  Chinese 
language  for  them  by  the  missionaries.  Best  of  all 
they  learn  the  story  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
through  it  come  to  know  the  Blessed  Saviour  Himself. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

RELIGION 

It  is  rather  strange  that  the  Chinese  have  three  re- 
ligions, instead  of  being  contented  with  one  like  most 
people.  Confucianism  is  the  chief  of  these.  It  takes 


RELIGION 


53 


its  name  from  Confucius,  a wise  man  bom  in  551  b.c., 
who  taught  men  to  be  just,  to  be  kind  to  one  another, 
and  to  agree  together;  but  he  said  little  or  nothing 
about  how  to  know  God  and  worship  Him.  The  most 
famous  saying  of  Confucius  is:  “ What  you  do  not  wish 
done  to  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others/’  These  beauti- 
ful words  are  nearer  to  the  teaching  of  Our  Lord  Jesus 
than  any  others  to  be  found  outside  the  Bible,  and  ought 
to  be  treasured  by  everyone.  Following  in  the  steps 
of  the  earlier  teachers  of  China,  Confucius  taught 
children  to  reverence  their  parents,  and  in  this  way 
he  printed  the  spirit  of  the  Fifth  Commandment  upon 
the  entire  nation.  We  must  remember,  however,  that 
Confucius  did  not  begin  what  is  called  Confucianism, 
he  only  handed  on  truths  which  the  early  Chinese  had 
learnt.  Indeed  some  things,  such  as  the  knowledge  of 
God,  and  of  a future  life,  he  taught  less  clearly  than 
those  who  had  gone  before  him. 

A story  is  told  which  shows  that,  wise  as  Con- 
fucius was,  he  did  not  know  everything.  One  day, 
when  out  for  a walk  he  found  two  boys  quarrelling. 
" What  are  you  two  quarrelling  about?  ” asked  the 
great  man. 

One  of  the  boys  answered,  “ The  sun.  I say  that 
when  the  sun  has  just  risen  it  is  nearest  to  us.” 

“ I say  that  it  is  nearest  to  us  at  noon,”  insisted  the 
other. 

“ When  the  sun  rises  it  looks  as  big  as  a chariot 
wheel.  When  it  is  high  it  is  quite  small,  no  larger 
than  a saucer.  It  is  plain  that  when  things  are  far 
away  they  look  small,  and  when  they  are  close  to  us 
they  look  big,”  said  the  first  youth. 

“ When  the  sun  rises,”  objected  the  second  boy, 
it  is  chill  and  cold.  When  the  sun  is  overhead  it  is 
as  hot  as  boiling  water.  Plainly  it  is  cold  when  it  is 


54  CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 

far  away  and  hot  when  it  is  near,  so  it  is  nearer  to  us 
at  noon  than  it  is  in  the  morning.’ ’ 

When  Confucius  had  heard  each  of  them  in  turn, 
he  did  not  know  what  to  say,  so  he  went  on  with  his 
walk  and  left  them.  Then  the  two  boys  laughed,  and 
one  of  them  exclaimed:  “ Who  are  the  people  that  say 
that  the  Sage  of  the  kingdom  of  Lo  is  a wise  man?  ” 
While  Confucius  lived,  few  of  his  fellow-countrymen 
would  listen  to  him.  The  princes,  whom  he  tried  to 
teach  to  govern  wisely,  made  him  sorrowdul  by  refusing 
to  follow  his  advice.  On  the  last  day  of  his  life  he 
was  very  sad  and  dragged  himself  about,  slowly  saying 
over  and  over  again  to  himself: 

“The  great  mountain  must  crumble, 

The  strong  beam  must  break, 

And  the  wise  man  wither  away  like  a plant.” 

But  his  labours  were  not  lost.  His  wise  words 
were  put  into  a book  by  his  followers,  more  than  a 
hundred  years  after  his  death.  Mencius,  the  greatest 
of  his  disciples,  carried  on  his  work.  His  fame  spread 
all  over  China  and  far  beyond  it.  Now  there  are  1500 
temples  in  wdiich  he  is  worshipped  by  millions  of  people, 
and  so  great  is  the  honour  given  to  him  that  his  fol- 
lowers say: 

“ Confucius  ! Confucius  ! 

Great  indeed  art  thou,  O Confucius. 

Before  thee 

None  like  unto  thee  ; 

After  thee 

None  equal  to  thee. 

Confucius  ! Confucius  ! 

Great  indeed  art  thou,  O Confucius.” 

Confucius  told  the  Chinese  people  that  the  most 
precious  teaching  handed  down  to  them  from  long  ago 
wTas  that  which  taught  them  to  honour  their  parents 
and  those  older  than  themselves.  But  both  before  and 
after  the  time  of  this  great  man,  the  Chinese  went  too 


RELIGION 


55 


far,  not  only  reverencing,  but  also  worshipping  the 
dead.  Perhaps  we  can  imagine  how  this  mistake 
crept  in.  They  were  afraid  that  they  might  forget 
their  loved  ones.  Since  it  was  not  the  custom  with 
them  long  ago  to  put  names  upon  gravestones,  they 
wrote  them  in  books  and  on  slips  of  wood.  These 
slips  of  wood,  or  ancestral  tablets,  were  kept  most 
carefully,  as  we  have  already  seen,  in  the  chief  room 
of  the  house  and  in  temples.  The  Chinese  believed 
that  each  person  had  three  souls,  one  which  went  into 
the  unseen  world  at  death,  one  which  stayed  in  the 
grave,  and  one  which  lived  in  the  slip  of  wood.  They 
also  thought  that  the  souls  in  tablets  or  in  graves 
depended  on  dutiful  sons  to  offer  food  and  sacrifices  to 
them.  Girls  might  not  make  these  offerings,  because, 
when  married,  they  belonged  to  their  husbands’ 
families.  When  parents  had  no  baby  boys,  they  were 
much  troubled,  not  having  anyone  to  grow  up  and 
worship  their  spirits,  for  they  fear  more  than  anything 
else  to  become  f hungry  demons  ’ after  death,  with  no 
one  to  care  for  their  needs.  Now  you  know  why 
Chinese  people  are  anxious  to  have  sons  rather  than 
daughters. 

Fear  mixes  with  the  worship  of  the  dead  at  every 
turn.  When  people  are  sick  or  lose  money  or  have 
some  other  trouble,  they  think  that  the  spirits  in  the 
tablets  are  angry,  and  are  bringing  evil  upon  their 
home.  They  offer  food,  and  burn  paper  clothes, 
houses,  money,  servants  and  horses  to  please  them, 
thinking  that  when  burnt,  those  things  pass  into 
the  spirit-land,  where  their  relatives  enjoy  them,  and 
being  pleased,  give  up  troubling  those  on  earth. 

A man  named  Wang  had  sickness  in  his  family 
and  his  business  was  not  good.  A priest  told  him 
that  his  father’s  spirit,  which  lived  in  a red  and  green 


56 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


tablet,  was  angry  with  him,  and  he  must  offer  paper 
money,  incense  and  other  things  to  pacify  it.  He 
offered  these  things,  and  fruit,  chickens,  cakes  and 
pork  besides;  but  all  to  no  purpose,  things  went  just  as 
badly  as  ever.  At  last,  after  spending  all  his  money 
in  this  way,  he  lost  faith  in  the  priest  and  in  the  tablet. 
“ My  father  was  not  unkind  to  me  when  he  was  alive,” 
said  he,  “ why  should  his  spirit  plague  me  so 
wickedly  when  he  is  dead?  ” About  this  time  he  first 
heard  the  Gospel,  and  in  despair  of  finding  comfort 
elsewhere,  began  to  go  to  church.  He  heard  that  he 
had  a Father  in  Heaven,  and  found  peace  and  gladness 
in  His  service.  This  worship  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead 
is  the  real  religion  of  China ; all  the  rest  of  their  beliefs 
are  things  added  on.  The  fear  of  those  who  have  gone 
into  the  unseen  world  hangs  like  a weight  upon  the 
people,  who  are  said  to  spend  millions  of  money  every 
year  in  trying  to  please  the  spirits  of  their  relatives. 

Sad  as  this  is,  we  ought  to  remember  that  there  is 
something  beautiful  and  right  hidden  beneath  all 
that  is  wrong  in  this  worship,  and  that  is  the  desire 
of  the  Chinese  people  to  reverence  and  obey  those  who 
have  gone  before  them.  When  they  have  learned  to 
serve  God,  what  is  wrong  will  pass  away,  and  perhaps 
they  will  teach  us  all  to  understand  the  real  meaning 
of  the  Fifth  Commandment  better  than  we  have  yet 
done. 

In  spite  of  the  good  in  it,  Confucianism  has  been 
a failure,  because  it  has  not  taught  men  and  women  and 
children  to  know  the  one  true  God,  who  alone  can  help 
them  to  follow  the  teaching  of  Confucius  and  be  just 
and  kind  and  obedient. 

Taoism,  as  it  is  called,  is  the  second  religion  of  China. 
Its  founder  is  called  Lao-tsze  or  ‘ old  boy/  It  is  said 
that  he  was  old  and  vise  and  had  white  hair  when  he 


RELIGION 


57 


was  born.  After  serving  his  country  for  a time,  he 
gave  up  his  post  and  travelled  towards  the  west. 
At  the  frontier  pass  of  Han  Kuh,  the  officer  in 
charge  of  the  gate  stopped  the  traveller,  and  knowing 
that  he  was  a wise  man,  persuaded  him  to  write  down 
some  of  his  teaching  in  a book.  Taoism  takes  its 
name  from  Tao,  the  truth,  or  the  way,  the  first 
syllable  in  the  name  of  the  Tao-teh-king,  the  famous 
volume  which  Lao-tsze  wrote ; but  what  is  now  called 
Taoism  does  not  follow  the  teaching  of  this  book. 

* The  Heavenly  Master/  or  pope  of  the  Taoists, 
lives  in  the  Dragon-tiger  mountain  in  Kiangsi.  He 
has  rows  of  jars,  in  which  the  people  think  he  keeps 
evil  spirits  shut  up,  like  the  Djinn  whom  the  fisherman 
of  the  Arabian  Nights  found  sealed  in  a copper  vessel. 
There  are  Taoist  priests  in  every  city  of  China,  who 
sometimes  may  be  seen  in  red  and  yellow  robes  with  a 
curious  topknot  of  yellow  wood  tied  into  their  hair, 
going  through  strange  rites,  or  cracking  a whip  with  a 
long  lash  to  frighten  away  demons.  The  Taoist  god 
most  feared  by  the  people  is  the  Kitchen  God,  who 
they  think  goes  up  to  heaven  once  a year,  and 
tells  what  each  member  of  the  family  has  been  doing 
during  the  twelve  months. 

Buddhism,  which  is  an  Indian  religion,  entered  China 
in  217  b.c.,  and  was  welcomed  by  the  emperor  of  that 
time.  It  was  afterwards  persecuted,  but  later  spread 
over  the  country.  Now,  practically  all  the  people  are 
Buddhists,  as  well  as  Confucianists  and  Taoists.  The 
teaching  of  Confucius,  as  we  have  already  seen,  leaves 
men  and  women  without  a Saviour  or  strength  to  do 
the  good  they  know.  That  is  why,  when  Buddhism 
came  into  the  land,  the  Chinese  welcomed  it,  hoping 
that  it  might  aid  them.  But  though  Buddhism  tells 
men  to  be  true,  pure,  humble,  courageous,  it  does  not 


58 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


lead  them,  any  more  than  did  Confucianism,  to  a 
personal  God,  who  might  help  them  to  do  what  they 
were  told  was  right.  It  leaves  them  to  their  own  efforts 
and  points  to  no  one  able  to  save  from  sin.  It  tells 
people  that  if  they  conquer  their  bodies  and  give  up 
doing  wrong  things,  not  taking  life  or  eating  animal 
food,  they  will  after  death  be  born  again  in  a new  and 
higher  life.  If,  when  born  again,  they  do  still  better, 
they  will  be  born  still  higher,  until  at  last  they  enter 
Nirvana,  the  Buddhist  heaven,  “ as  the  dewdrops 
slip  into  the  shining  sea.” 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  people  do  wrong  things,  the 
Buddhists  say  they  will  be  born  again  as  lower  animals, 
dogs,  rats  or  creeping  snakes. 

There  are  many  idols  connected  with  these  re- 
ligions, and  everywhere  you  may  see  people  going  to 
the  temples  to  burn  incense  and  paper  money,  and  to 
offer  gifts  of  food.  They  do  not  go  regularly,  as  people 
go  to  church  in  Christian  lands,  but  on  idols’  birth- 
days or  when  they  themselves  are  in  trouble. 

Year  by  year  more  of  the  people  turn  from  their 
own  religions  to  the  peace  and  happiness  of  serving 
God.  In  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  they  find  forgiveness 
of  sins,  and  for  the  first  time  strength  to  follow  all  that 
is  good  in  the  teaching  of  their  own  ancient  Sages. 


CHAPTER  IX 

FESTIVALS 

Chinese  life,  which  for  many  children  is  dull  and  full 
of  work,  has  its  red-letter  days.  No  description  of 
the  little  folk  of  the  Middle  Kingdom  would  be  complete 


FESTIVALS  59 

without  an  account  of  some  of  the  festivals,  which  add 
so  much  to  the  happiness  of  the  year. 

How  the  boys  and  girls  look  forward  to  New  Year’s 
day!  The  houses  are  swept  and  tidied  the  night 
before.  Inscriptions  on  bright  red  paper  are  pasted 
on  the  door-posts  and  lintels  of  each  home.  What 
a banging  of  guns  and  crackers  there  is,  in  the  early 
morning,  after  the  ancestors  have  been  worshipped. 
The  pavement  is  littered  with  red  and  white  paper, 
wherever  fireworks  have  been  let  off.  A little 
later,  the  streets  are  full  of  people  going  to  call  on  their 
friends,  and  say  " I congratulate  you,  I congratulate 
you,”  for  this  is  the  way  in  which  the  Chinese  wish 
each  other  a Happy  New  Year. 

The  children  are  dressed  in  new  clothes,  their  queues 
and  little  plaits  of  hair  being  tied  with  fresh  red  cord. 
They  have  new  shoes  and  new  hats  and  a handful  of 
cash  to  rattle  in  their  pockets.  The  babies  are  as  gay 
as  humming-birds,  in  bright  coloured  jackets  and 
trousers,  pussy-faced  shoes,  silver  bangles,  and  wonder- 
ful embroidered  crowns  and  collars. 

The  shops  are  closed,  everyone  is  either  resting  or 
holiday-making.  The  streets  are  lined  with  gambling- 
boards.  One  hears  the  clatter  of  bamboo  lot-sticks 
and  the  rattle  of  dice  everywhere  as  one  passes 
along.  Boys  and  girls  make  for  the  cake  man’s  tray. 
They  buy  candy  and  fruit  and  toys;  they  jump  and 
dance  and  play,  and  enjoy  life  hugely.  The  holidays 
continue  for  two  weeks.  There  are  plays  and  feasts 
in  the  evenings,  and  plenty  of  crackers  are  fired.  The 
children  wish  that  the  fun  might  go  on  for  ever.  On 
the  fifteenth  of  the  month  the  holidays  are  closed  by 
the  festival  of  lanterns. 

For  several  days  before  this  feast  the  streets  have 
been  gay  with  beautiful  lanterns  of  many  shapes  and 


60 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


sizes.  Some  are  made  of  glass,  with  flowers  and  birds 
of  paper  pasted  over  them,  or  painted  in  bright  colours. 
Some  are  made  of  crinkled  paper,  round  like  melons,  or 
jar-shaped;  others  resemble  fishes,  lions,  castles, 
rabbits,  lotus  flowers,  white  and  red,  tigers,  dragons. 
They  are  all  colours — red,  green,  white,  blue,  pink, 
yellow,  purple.  The  kind  which  the  little  boys  like 
best  are  ‘ throwing-ball  lanterns/  which  are  made 
by  pasting  bits  of  different  coloured  paper  on  a frame 
of  thin  bamboo.  Inside  there  is  a tiny  clay  dish,  filled 
with  fat,  into  which  a wick  is  stuck.  When  the  evening 
is  dark  enough,  out  come  the  boys.  They  light  their 
lanterns.  Some  have  big  tiger  and  fish  lanterns, 
which  move  on  wooden  wheels,  the  fire  shining  through 
their  eyes  and  bodies.  Some  prance  along  in  a row, 
each  with  a bit  of  a long  dragon  on  his  shoulder.  The 
first  boy  carries  the  head,  and  the  last  one  has  the  tail. 
The  dragon  bobs  and  twists  as  they  thread  the  crowded 
street.  Some  whirl  their  * ball  lanterns  ’ round  and 
round,  by  means  of  a string  tied  to  the  top.  The 
wicks  keep  alight  because  the  lump  of  fat  does  not  run 
out  of  the  socket  as  oil  would  do.  The  bright  colours 
gleam  as  the  light  shines  out,  and  the  lanterns  whirl 
flashing  through  the  dark. 

Then  there  is  the  spring  festival,  when  troops  of 
people  go  out  of  the  east  gate  of  the  city  to  see  the 
mandarins  worship  at  an  altar  to  the  Earth  God,  which 
has  the  figure  of  a buffalo  standing  beside  it.  People 
throw  things  at  the  buffalo ; whoever  hits  it  is  sure  that 
he  will  have  a prosperous  year. 

Then  comes  the  Tsing-Ming,  or  feast  of  tombs, 
when  schools  have  holiday.  Steamed  cake,  brown  and 
white,  and  vegetables  rolled  in  pancakes  are  eaten  in 
every  house.  People  put  the  family  graves  in  order. 
Sacrifices  are  made,  paper  money  is  strewed  upon  the 


MMHXOW  10(11  s'  I H I.  IS  I A 0.1,  ONIOO 


FESTIVALS 


61 


earth  and  crackers  are  fired.  Tiny  boys  are  taken  to 
the  graves,  that  they  may  learn  how  to  tend  them,  and 
present  the  offerings  by  and  by  when  older.  Boys, 
lads  and  young  men  line  the  banks  of  the  river,  or  some 
other  open  space  near  the  town  or  village,  and 
throw  stones  at  one  another.  The  stones  fly  fast, 
dashing  up  spray  where  they  strike  the  water.  Now 
one  side  has  the  better  in  the  fight,  now  the  other. 
The  game  becomes  serious  indeed  when  someone  is 
struck  and  the  blood  flows.  Many  people  go  to  look 
on,  believing  that  if  the  battle  goes  on  until  blood  has 
been  drawn,  the  village  will  be  free  of  sickness  during 
the  year. 

In  some  cities  a children’s  festival  is  held  about  the 
beginning  of  summer,  when  the  little  ones  are  carried 
to  the  temple  of  one  of  the  goddesses  and  devoted  to 
her.  Those  taken  for  the  first  time  go  through  a little 
ceremony.  Some  money  is  paid  to  the  nuns  in  charge 
of  the  temple,  and  the  infants  become  the  adopted 
children  of  the  idol.  After  being  adopted,  the  children 
go  every  year  to  the  temple  until  the  age  of  sixteen  is 
reached,  when  they  again  pay  a sum  of  money  and  give 
up  attending.  The  little  ones  and  their  friends  enjoy 
these  festivals.  From  early  until  late,  streams  of 
people  pour  in  by  the  city  gates  and  flood  the  streets. 
The  children  are  most  gay,  dressed  in  silk  and  satin. 
Some  wear  the  robe,  hat,  belt  and  boots  of  an  official ; 
some  wear  delicate  robes  of  green,  blue,  pink,  crimson, 
apple-green ; some  have  head-dresses  embroidered 
with  flowers  and  spangled  with  tiny  mirrors;  some 
wear  antique  crowns  adorned  with  pheasants’  feathers ; 
some  are  dressed  as  old  men  riding  on  water  buffaloes  to 
represent  Lao-tsze  on  his  journey  to  the  west;  others 
again  are  in  uniform  and  kepi,  after  the  fashion  of  the 
new  army. 


62 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


Many  of  the  children  are  mounted  on  horses,  over 
which  coloured  cloths  are  thrown.  The  collar-bells  chime 
and  jingle  as  the  animals  are  led  along.  The  crush  at 
the  temple  gates  is  great.  The  little  people  dismount, 
and  with  others  who  have  been  brought  pick-a-back, 
are  carried  into  the  presence  of  the  idols.  Their  parents 
buy  red  candles  and  offer  long  sticks  of  incense,  and 
go  through  the  temple  making  the  children  bow 
towards  the  altar.  The  horses  are  mounted  once  more 
and  carry  their  gay  riders  home,  where  paper  money 
is  burnt  and  plays  are  acted.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that 
many  children  are  stolen  and  lost,  or  become  ill  from 
heat  and  exposure  at  these  festivals,  the  foolish 
people  believe  that  the  goddess  takes  special  care  of 
her  adopted. children. 

The  fifth  day  of  the  fifth  moon  is  the  dragon 
boat  festival,  when  schoolboys  present  some  cash  to 
their  teacher,  and  teachers  give  a fan  with  an  inscrip- 
tion on  it  to  each  of  their  pupils.  The  children  go  with 
their  friends  to  look  at  the  dragon  boats  racing.  They 
love  to  see  the  paddles  splash  in  the  water,  to  listen  to 
the  drums  beating  and  the  shouts  of  the  rowers. 

The  mid-autumn  festival  comes  in  the  eighth 
month,  when  scholars  once  more  give  money  to  their 
teachers,  receiving  moon  cakes  in  return.  In  some 
districts  the  children  build  circular  towers  of  broken 
tiles,  and  light  fires  inside  them.  Some  of  these 
towers  are  six  feet  across  and  several  feet  high, 
although  the  bits  of  tiles  are  laid  one  on  the  top  of  the 
other  without  cement. 

In  the  eleventh  month  there  is  the  winter  festival, 
when  ancestors  are  worshipped  and  feasts  and  plays 
are  again  enjoyed.  There  are  many  other  holidays 
and  feasts,  as,  for  instance,  on  the  birthdays  of  the 
idols,  but  those  above  mentioned  are  the  chief  festi- 


SUPERSTITIONS  63 

vals  to  which  the  boys  and  girls  look  forward  during 
the  year. 

Though  Christian  children  do  not  join  in  idolatrous 
festivals,  they  have  ‘ ball  lanterns  ’ to  swing,  and 
cakes  to  eat,  and  a good  share  of  fun.  When  they 
learn  to  know  and  love  the  Saviour,  they  find  true  and 
lasting  joy,  better  far  than  that  which  heathen  boys 
and  girls  know. 

Sunday  is  the  Christian  holiday,  when  the  little 
ones  wear  bright  clothes  and  join  the  happy  throng 
which  gathers  at  church.  They  love  to  sing  the  hymns 
and  take  part  in  the  Bible  services  by  answering 
questions  and  saying  the  golden  text,  chosen  for  each 
Sunday. 


CHAPTER  X 

SUPERSTITIONS 

The  superstitions  of  China  are  countless,  and  of  course 
differ  in  different  parts  of  the  Empire,  but  you  will 
like  to  hear  of  some  that  touch  the  lives  of  the  boys  and 
girls. 

When  boys  and  girls  are  bom,  their  fortunes  are 
told.  The  baby’s  father  gets  the  child’s  ‘ eight 
characters  ’ written  down  on  a piece  of  paper.  Two 
of  the  ‘ characters  ’ tell  the  year,  two  the  month,  two 
the  day  and  two  the  hour  when  the  little  one  came 
into  this  world ; these  he  takes  to  the  man  who  * looks 
at  people's  lives,’  who  he  believes  can  tell  from 
them  whether  the  child  will  be  fortunate  or  unhappy 
in  this  world.  This  fortune-teller,  who  is  very  often 
blind,  has  a great  deal  to  do  with  baby’s  fate.  If, 


64 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 

for  instance,  he  says  that  fire  enters  into  its  disposition, 
and  someone  else  in  the  family  has  a fortune  connected 
with  wood,  then  the  child  will  surely  bring  bad  fortune 
to  that  person,  for  fire  burns  wood.  The  people  believe 
what  the  blind  man  says,  and  so  poor  little  baby  is 
given  away,  or  even  in  some  cases  put  to  death,  to 
prevent  its  bringing  trouble  upon  the  family.  When 
baby  grows  older  it  is  supposed  to  be  in  danger  from 
wicked  spirits.  Little  gilt  idols  are  put  in  its  cap,  to 
frighten  away  these  demons,  a favourite  figure  being 
that  of  a roly-poly  bald  idol,  called  ‘ Fat  Strength.’ 
When  a little  older,  a tiny  round  tray,  foot-measure  and 
pair  of  scissors  are  sewn  on  the  front  band  of  its  cap,  for 
the  same  purpose.  Coins,  charms  of  copper  and  silver, 
and  little  square  bags  of  incense  powder,  with  the  names 
of  idols  written  on  them,  are  also  hung  round  children’s 
necks  to  keep  away  the  evil  spirits. 

If  a little  one  takes  ill  the  father  sometimes  begs 
one  cash  from  a hundred  different  people  among  his 
neighbours  and  friends.  With  these  coins  he  has  a 
chain  made  to  go  round  the  child’s  neck  and  a padlock 
to  fasten  it  tightly.  In  this  way  he  hopes,  poor  man, 
to  fasten  baby’s  soul  firmly  to  its  body,  and  so 
prevent  it  from  dying.  If,  in  spite  of  this,  baby  gets 
worse,  its  father  thinks  some  idol  is  enticing  its  soul 
away  from  its  little  body.  After  finding  out  which  idol 
is  probably  the  thief,  he  takes  one  of  the  child’s  little 
garments  and  puts  it  into  an  empty  basket,  which  has 
a length  of  dry  straw  rope  tied  round  it.  Then  he 
goes  to  the  temple,  and,  after  offering  things  which  he 
thinks  will  please  the  idol,  and  make  it  willing  to  let 
baby’s  spirit  go  again,  he  spreads  out  the  little  jacket, 
believing  that  the  tiny  soul  will  recognise  its  own 
garment  and  get  into  it.  Then  he  puts  the  garment 
carefully  into  his  basket  and  lights  the  straw  rope  that 


SUPERSTITIONS  65 

it  may  bum  slowly,  and  lead  the  little  wandering  spirit 
safely  home.1 

In  some  places  the  father  goes  about  with  the  tiny 
jacket  hung  on  the  end  of  a stick,  calling  baby’s  name 
aloud,  hoping  to  find  the  little  wandering  spirit  in  this 
way. 

Boys  and  girls  early  come  to  know  the  stone  lions, 
which  stand  opposite  points  where  straight  lanes  or 
streets  enter  other  streets,  or  in  front  of  temples  and 
yamens.  These  curious  images  have  broad  noses  and 
tufted  manes  and  tails.  Some  crouch  close  against  a 
block  in  a wall,  with  round  eyes  and  long  teeth,  looking 
as  if  they  were  going  to  walk  out  of  the  stone.  Many 
have  their  heads  on  one  side,  with  a double  string 
hanging  down  from  their  mouths.  Some  have  a baby 
lion  in  front  of  them  or  a carved  ball  under  one  paw. 
A few  have  a ball  inside  their  stone  jaws  and  some  are 
crouching  as  if  to  spring.  The  children  are  told 
that  these  stone  lions  stand  in  front  of  houses  to 
prevent  evil  spirits  or  ghosts  from  coming  along  the 
lane  to  hurt  people  inside.  They  say  that  in  the 
middle  of  the  night  the  lions  come  down  from  their 
stone  pedestals  and  play  about  the  streets  with  their 
balls,  rolling  over  and  over  one  another!  One  lion, 
which  was  supposed  to  change  himself  into  a man  and 
roam  about  the  streets,  has  been  caged  with  bars  and 
is  kept  safely  shut  up  in  a little  temple  of  his  own  in 
Chinchew. 

Then  children  are  also  told  that  coffins,  which  have 
been  shone  upon  by  the  moon,  turn  into  ghosts  and 
walk  about  the  streets,  trying  to  catch  people.  They 
think  there  are  demons  who  call  and  howl  whenever 
anyone  is  going  to  die.  They  say,  too,  that  the  spirits 

1 The  Chinese  say  that  man’s  day  is  the  spirit’s  night,  that  is  why  a 
burning  lope,  or  candles,  or  a lantern,  are  used  at  such  times,  and  when 
worshipping  in  temples  during  the  day. 

E 


66 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


of  drowned  people  turn  into  duck  demons,  which  swim 
near  the  edge  of  ponds.  If  anyone  is  foolish  enough  to 
try  to  catch  them,  they  drag  him  under  the  water  and 
drown  him.  The  drowned  man  then  becomes  the  duck 
demon,  and  the  first  man  can  escape.  Then  children 
are  told  of  serpent  demons  and  foxes  that  turn  into 
people,  and  bring  hurt  to  those  who  take  them  into 
their  houses.  A famous  story  is  that  of  a man  who 
met  a beautiful  lady  and  married  her.  One  day  he 
came  home  rather  sooner  than  his  wife  expected  him, 
and  could  not  find  her  anywhere.  At  last  he  peeped 
through  a hole  in  an  old  shed,  and  there  he  saw  a 
hideous  demon,  painting  its  skin,  which  was  stretched 
on  a board.  Looking  at  the  skin  the  man  saw  that  it 
was  his  wife’s,  and  so  knewr  he  had  married  a fox- 
demon  and  not  a woman.  “ If  you  could  stretch  your 
hand  three  feet  above  your  head  you  would  touch  the 
spirits,”  is  a common  saying. 

Fork-like  prongs  stick  out  from  the  roofs  of  the 
houses  to  drive  away  demons.  Streets  and  roads 
often,  for  no  reason,  turn  a sharp  comer,  and  the 
furrows  ploughed  in  the  fields  are  awry,  so  that  the 
spirits  may  lose  their  w^ay  and  not  come  along  them  to 
hurt  people.  They  think  there  are  spirits  of  the  door 
and  spirits  under  the  eaves,  spirits  of  the  rafters  and 
spirits  of  the  bed. 

Sometimes  you  will  see  a head  with  a shining  sw'ord 
in  its  mouth  above  a door ; sometimes  a swrord,  made  of 
round  brass  cash,  tied  together  by  a red  cord,  hangs  in 
a bedroom.  If  a wicked  spirit  comes  to  hurt  anyone 
inside  the  room  the  spirit  of  the  sw^ord  is  supposed  to 
flash  out  and  drive  it  away. 

In  the  hills  and  wraters,  in  graves  and  in  houses,  in 
great  stones  and  in  old  trees,  in  the  moon  and  in  the 
stars,  there  are,  the  Chinese  say,  spirits  and  spiritual 


SUPERSTITIONS 


67 


influences.  There  is  the  earth  spirit  in  the  ground  and 
there  are  dragons  which  may  be  made  very  angry  if  the 
soil  is  dug  too  deeply.  If  an  earth  dragon  is  angry  and 
moves  his  tail,  half  a city  may  fall  down.  There  are 
dragons  too  of  air  and  water.  When  an  eclipse  took 
place,  the  people  used  always  to  go  out  with  drums  and 
pans  and  brass  gongs  to  frighten  away  the  Celestial 
Dog,  which  they  thought  was  eating  up  the  sun  or 
moon.  In  1909,  however,  when  the  Prince  Regent  was 
asked  to  give  orders  for  the  usual  ceremonies  to  drive 
away  an  eclipse,  he  refused,  saying  that  now  these 
foolish  ways  must  cease. 

Numbers  of  superstitious  practices  are  connected 
with  the  idols.  The  spirits  inside  them  are  supposed 
to  eat  the  spirit  of  the  food  offered  upon  the  altar. 
Inside  some  of  the  images  there  is  a mirror,  in  which 
the  idol  is  supposed  to  see  all  that  passes  before  it. 
On  certain  days  idols  are  carried  through  cities  and 
villages  and  round  the  fields  to  let  them  see  how  their 
worshippers  are  faring.  On  great  festivals  men  may  be 
seen  bare  to  the  waist,  with  their  hair  floating  down 
their  backs,  and  thin,  flat  swords  in  their  hands.  The 
spirit  of  the  idol  is  thought  to  enter  these  men.  They 
foam  at  the  mouth,  they  whirl  round  and  rush  about, 
they  cut  themselves,  striking  wildly  over  their  shoulders 
with  their  swords.  Though  they  do  not  wound  them- 
selves badly,  yet  thin  streaks  of  red  show  where  the 
skin  is  cut.  Guns  are  fired  and  piles  of  paper  money 
send  up  clouds  of  smoke.  The  ‘ mediums/  as  these 
men  may  be  called,  put  their  swords  between  their 
teeth  and  leap  on  to  the  carrying  poles  of  the  idols' 
sedan-chair,  and  thus  standing  behind  the  image, 
they  are  carried  through  the  streets. 

Chinese  boys  and  girls  are  also  taught  to  believe 
that  the  spirits  of  the  idols  go  into  women,  who  turn 


68 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


very  white  and  ill-looking,  and  then  begin  to  speak 
in  a strange,  thin,  muttering  voice.  The  people  think 
that  when  the  idol  spirit  is  in  these  women,  they  can 
bring  dead  people  back  to  speak  to  their  friends  and 
children,  just  as  the  witch  of  Endor  brought  back 
Samuel  to  speak  to  Saul. 

In  southern  China,  a man  named  It-sai-peh,  who 
was  a Christian,  died  before  his  wife  had  learned  to 
believe  in  God.  His  widow  was  very  sad  when  he 
died,  and  wished  to  bum  money,  clothes,  houses, 
servants,  horses  and  other  things,  all  made  of  paper, 
so  that  the  spirit  of  all  these  things  should  be  of  use  to 
her  husband  in  the  unseen  world.  Before  going  to  the 
expense,  however,  she  went  to  ask  one  of  these  women, 
who  was  said  to  be  a spirit  medium,  whether  she  ought 
to  make  the  offerings  or  not. 

“ Shall  I make  offerings  for  It-sai-peh’s  soul?  ” 
asked  the  widow. 

“ It-sai-peh  is  in  heaven/'  said  the  woman,  “ he 
does  not  need  your  offerings.” 

It  was  a strange  answer  for  the  witch  to  make, 
but  it  did  good,  for  It-sai-peh’s  widow  was  much  com- 
forted; she  did  not  wraste  her  money  on  useless  offer- 
ings, but  she  went  to  church  to  hear  the  doctrine 
which  had  saved  her  husband,  and  in  time  herself 
believed  in  Christ. 

In  addition  to  consulting  these  idol  mediums, 
people  often  go  to  the  temples  to  cast  lots  themselves, 
and  to  divine.  They  first  offer  incense  and  paper  money, 
then  they  tell  the  idol  what  they  want  to  do,  and  ask 
it  whether  they  may  do  so  or  not.  After  this  they 
take  two  curved  bamboo  roots,  round  on  one  side  and 
flat  on  the  other.  They  wave  these  before  the  image, 
and  then  throw  them  down  upon  the  floor.  If  the 
tw'o  round  sides  or  the  two  flat  sides  turn  upwards, 


SUPERSTITIONS 


69 


that  means  No,  but  if  one  round  side  and  one  flat  side 
are  uppermost,  that  means  Yes.  They  throw  three 
times ; and  twice  yes,  or  twice  no,  settles  the  matter. 
Sometimes  they  go  to  certain  temples  or  shrines  to 
sleep,  in  the  hopes  that  the  idols  will  tell  them  in  a 
dream  the  winning  number  in  a lottery,  or  something 
else  they  want  very  much  to  know.  When  they  have 
had  the  dream  they  go  to  someone  wise  in  explaining 
dreams,  to  find  out  its  meaning. 

The  idols  are  supposed  to  do  strange  things  at  times. 
Once  when  the  officials  were  putting  out  a great  fire  at 
Pekin,  they  said  they  saw  a boy  with  a red  face,  in  the 
midst  of  the  flames,  helping  their  men;  everywhere 
the  boy  went  the  fire  died  down,  till  soon  it  ceased 
altogether.  Search  was  made  for  the  useful  boy,  but 
he  could  not  be  found.  Afterwards  it  was  said  that  in 
a distant  province  there  was  a boy  idol,  deified  when 
he  was  eleven  years  old,  represented  with  a red  face, 
and  sitting  on  a throne.  This  idol  was  now  honoured 
with  a title  and  special  offerings,  because  it  was 
believed  that  he  had  gone  all  the  way  to  Pekin  to  help 
to  put  out  the  fire. 

The  people  think  that  sometimes  idols  get  down 
from  their  seats  and  go  about  in  the  way  just  described. 
Here  is  a story  which  will  make  this  superstition  plain. 

In  the  West  Street  of  a certain  Chinese  city  a man 
kept  a cake  shop.  The  shopkeeper  began  to  notice 
that  very  early  every  morning  two  chubby  children 
used  to  bring  some  cash  to  buy  cakes.  What  further 
surprised  him  was  that  every  night  he  found  some 
sheets  of  yellow  paper  money  (such  as  is  offered  to 
idols)  at  the  bottom  of  the  till.  Nobody  put  the  paper 
money  into  the  box,  but  every  night,  as  surely  as  he 
counted  over  his  gains,  there  was  the  yellow  paper 
lying  at  the  bottom.  Sometimes  he  wondered  whether 


70 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


this  paper  money  had  to  do  with  the  boys  who  came 
to  buy  cakes  in  the  morning.  But  let  him  watch  ever 
so  closely,  he  never  saw  them  put  anything  into  his  till. 
They  brought  him  good  luck,  however,  for  more  people 
came  to  buy  his  cakes  every  day,  and  he  made  plenty 
of  pennies.  But  the  cake  man  could  not  give  up 
wondering  about  the  paper  money,  and,  at  last,  he 
made  up  his  mind  that  the  children  certainly  had  to  do 
with  the  mystery.  Nobody  knew  where  the  pair 
of  chubby-cheeked  boys  came  from,  or  where  they  went 
to,  and  they  were  not  quite  like  ordinary  boys,  there 
was  something  distinguished  in  their  look  and  ways. 

One  day  the  shopkeeper  could  restrain  his  curiosity 
no  longer,  so  he  waited  until  the  boys  left  the  shop, 
and  then  he  followed  them  along  the  pavement,  care- 
fully keeping  at  a distance  and  noticing  where  they 
went.  After  walking  along  the  West  Street  for  a 
little  distance,  they  turned  up  a narrow  lane;  their 
pursuer  quickened  his  pace  and  followed  them  along 
the  lane,  and  out  into  another  street,  and  yet  another, 
until  they  disappeared  round  the  corner  of  a small 
temple.  A minute  later  the  inquisitive  man  followed 
them.  Inside  the  temple  were  two  images  of  chubby- 
faced  child  idols.  The  secret  was  out!  The  boys 
were  no  ordinary  children,  but  idol  spirits  which 
had  taken  to  frisking  about  the  city.  The  secret  was 
out,  but  the  boys  came  no  more  to  the  cake  shop. 
There  was  no  more  paper  money  lying  at  the  bottom 
of  the  till  at  night,  and,  for  some  reason,  fewer  people 
went  to  buy  cakes,  so  that  the  prying  shopkeeper’s 
business  fell  off  from  that  day.  That,  at  least,  is  the 
legend. 

It  would  not  be  easy  to  tell  one  hundredth  part  of 
the  superstitions  of  a country  which  has  followed 
heathen  ways  for  so  long  as  China  has  done.  It 


SUPERSTITIONS 


71 


may  be  said  that  no  one  can  be  born,  reared, 
taught,  married;  no  one  can  study,  farm  land,  keep 
a shop,  work  or  govern;  no  one  can  be  doctored  or 
nursed,  die  or  be  buried,  without  numberless  super- 
stitious customs,  which  entangle  the  lives  of  the  Chinese 
people  as  the  meshes  of  a spider’s  web  entangle  a fly. 

Who  is  that  blind  man  who  strikes  a cow’s  horn  with 
a bit  of  wood  as  he  walks  along?  Kok,  kok,  kok,  goes 
the  horn.  It  is  the  fortune-teller,  upon  whose  words 
the  fate  of  so  many  people  depends.  There — a woman 
has  stopped  him.  The  sound  of  the  horn  is  stilled. 
He  leans  his  head  to  one  side,  listening,  while  his  poor, 
empty  eyes  stare  vacantly.  Now  he  is  speaking. 
You  cannot  hear  his  words,  for  he  has  lowered  his  voice. 
Probably  he  is  telling  the  old  lady  her  fortune,  or  advis- 
ing her  about  a new  daughter-in-law,  or  some  business 
matter.  On  we  go.  There,  at  a comer  of  that  temple 
under  the  shadow  of  the  red  brick  wall,  sits  a learned- 
looking  man  with  wide-rimmed  spectacles.  He  has  a 
table  in  front  of  him,  on  which  there  are  two  small 
cages.  Wait  a moment  and  you  will  see  something  of 
interest.  Up  come  some  people  from  the  country. 
You  can  tell  that  they  are  villagers  by  their  new 
clothes  and  the  circles  of  silver  pins  which  the  girls 
have  stuck  in  their  hair,  beside  their  general  look  of 
being  on  holiday.  One  of  them  wishes  to  have  her 
fortune  told.  See!  the  old  gentleman  has  put  some 
slips  of  folded  paper,  about  the  size  of  playing-cards, 
upon  the  table.  There  are  different  fortunes  written 
on  them.  If  you  looked  closely  enough  at  the  edge  of 
the  folded  papers  you  would  see  that  one  of  them  has 
a little  double  fold.  But  this  is  a secret  of  which  these 
country  folk  know  nothing.  Now  which  of  the 
fortunes  will  be  chosen?  Wait  and  you  will  see.  Old 
Spectacles  opens  the  door  of  one  of  the  cages  and  out 


72 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


hops  the  most  friendly  speckled  brown  bird.  He 
stands  in  front  of  the  folded  papers  and  looks  at  them, 
one  after  the  other,  in  the  wisest  way;  he  turns  his 
head,  down  dives  his  clean,  black  bill.  See,  he  has 
picked  up  one  of  the  papers.  His  master  takes  the 
paper  and  gives  birdie  a grain  of  rice  before  putting 
him  back  in  his  cage.  Now  he  reads  off  the  fortune 
from  the  paper  and  explains  its  meaning.  The  country 
folk  are  much  impressed,  especially  by  the  wise  bird, 
and  pay  their  money  willingly  before  they  go  away. 
They  are  so  superstitious  that  they  really  believe  the 
bird  chose  their  fortune  for  them,  but  birdie  only 
picked  out  the  paper  with  a fold  in  the  edge,  because 
he  hoped  to  find  a grain  of  corn  in  the  crease.  If  you 
followed  its  master  home,  you  would  see  him  constantly 
teaching  his  little  brown  pet  to  choose  the  paper  with 
a fold,  by  putting  a grain  of  rice  just  inside  the  crease. 
So  when  customers  come  to  have  their  fortunes  told, 
the  bird  looks  over  the  papers  until  it  finds  the  one 
folded  at  the  edge  by  the  fortune-teller,  and  then 
picks  it  up  and  gives  it  to  be  read  by  him. 

This  account  of  a few  of  their  superstitions  will  serve 
to  show  you  in  what  constant  trouble  and  dread  the 
Chinese  children  live,  for  fear  of  the  demons  and  spirits 
all  round  them,  because  they  do  not  know  and  trust  in 
God.  When  living  among  them  one  cannot  but  feel 
that  they  are  like  the  people  long  ago,  “ who,  through 
fear  of  death,  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bond- 
age.” Yet  we  may  learn  something  from  them  too. 
The  constant  sense  of  the  unseen  world  among  the 
Chinese  and  their  dread  of  offending  the  invisible 
spirits,  should  make  us  ask  ourselves  if  we  remember 
the  unseen  God  as  often,  and  are  as  careful  not  to 
offend  against  our  loving,  watchful  Heavenly  Father, 
as  they  are  not  to  offend  the  spirits. 


REVERENCE  FOR  PARENTS 


73 


CHAPTER  XI 

REVERENCE  EOR  PARENTS 

“Things  difficult  to  come  by  are  a good  son,  long  life, 
and  a great  beard.” — Chinese  Proverb. 

The  Chinese  say  that  filial  piety  is  the  chief  of  virtues, 
and  many  show  by  their  actions  that  they  believe 
the  saying.  They  care  for  their  fathers  and  mothers, 
obey  their  wishes,  and  are  careful  in  the  use  of  their 
property.  “ A good  son  will  not  use  the  portion 
divided  for  him;  a good  daughter  will  not  wear  her 
marriage  clothes/’  say  the  Chinese. 

The  following  story  shows  how  sorry  they  are  when 
they  think  that  they  have  offended  against  their 
parents  in  any  way.  In  1908  a traveller  met  a young 
man  on  his  way  to  a famous  temple  on  the  top  of  a 
mountain  in  Hunan.  The  lad  had  lost  his  mother  and 
he  was  very  sad  because  he  thought  that  her  death 
must  have  been  caused  by  some  wrong  thing  which  he 
had  done,  either  in  this  life  or  in  some  previous  exist- 
ence. He  felt  sure  that  if  he  had  not  been  guilty  of  some 
very  wicked  action,  Heaven  never  would  have  taken 
away  his  mother  whilst  he  was  still  so  young.  In 
order  to  make  up  for  what  he  thought  to  be  his  crime, 
he  vowed  to  walk  sixty  miles  to  the  temple,  bowing 
down  to  the  ground  every  seven  steps  which  he  took. 
He  must  have  knelt  over  250  times  in  a mile,  or  more 
than  15,000  times  in  all. 

To  ill-use  one’s  father  or  mother  is  a fault  for  which 
there  is  no  forgiveness  in  China.  Some  years  ago,  in 
one  of  the  cities  of  the  south,  a boy  who  was  unkind 
to  his  mother  and  spent  his  time  in  gambling,  instead 


74  CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 

of  working  for  her  support,  was  punished  by  being 
buried  alive. 

The  following  story  shows  how  much  power  fathers 
and  mothers  have  over  their  children,  even  when  they 
are  grown  to  be  men  and  women.  Once  there  was 
a Hunan  man,  named  Chiu,  who  fought  bravely 
against  the  f long-haired  rebels/  and  rose  to  high 
office  in  the  Canton  province.  His  mother,  a big 
woman  with  unbound  feet  and  a face  marked  by 
small-pox,  was  a person  of  strong  character  who  had 
trained  her  children  to  be  dutiful  and  always  to  obey. 

Not  long  after  Mr  Chiu  had  gone  to  Canton,  he  sent 
for  his  mother  to  come  and  stay  with  him  in  the  big 
house  where  he  now  lived.  When  word  was  brought 
that  the  servants,  wThom  he  had  sent  with  his  own  silk- 
lined  chair  for  the  old  lady,  wrere  drawing  near  to  the 
city,  Mr  Chiu  left  his  retinue  and  joined  them,  follow- 
ing his  mother’s  chair  on  foot  as  it  entered  the  gate- 
way and  passed  through  the  city. 

The  people,  as  they  usually  do  wiien  there  is  any- 
thing to  be  seen,  lined  the  streets,  filling  every  door- 
way with  their  eager  faces,  for  men,  women  and 
children  had  turned  out  to  see  the  great  man  welcome 
his  aged  mother. 

Old  Mrs  Chiu  sat  in  the  sedan,  her  big  feet  sticking 
out  from  under  the  silk  front  covering  of  the  chair. 
As  he  walked  along  beside  the  bearers,  her  son  noticed 
how  awkvTard  they  looked  in  that  position,  and  gently 
pushed  them  inside  with  his  hand. 

On  went  the  silken  chair  with  its  bearers  and  escort, 
the  people  gazing  with  interest  on  all  the  marks  of 
honour  paid  by  a good  son  to  his  mother.  Presently 
the  old  lady  again  stuck  out  her  feet,  so  that  they 
“ showed  like  a pair  of  boats  ” on  the  footboard  of  the 
chair  beneath  the  gaze  of  the  wThole  city.  Mr  Chiu, 


REVERENCE  FOR  PARENTS 


75 


great  man  as  he  was,  did  not  dare  to  push  them  back 
again,  much  as  he  disliked  to  have  everyone  laughing 
at  his  mother’s  big  feet. 

When  the  chair  reached  the  Yamen,  or  official 
house,  Mr  Chiu  went  to  help  his  mother  to  get  out. 

" What  place  is  this?  ” asked  the  old  lady,  as  if  she 
did  not  know  her  son.  “ What  place  is  this?  ” 

“ This  is  the  Yamen,  where  you  are  to  live,  mother,” 
answered  Mr  Chiu. 

“ I can  have  no  such  happiness,”  said  she.  “ Go 
and  see  whether  there  is  an  inn  near  by,  where  people 
cook  their  own  food,  that  I may  go  and  lodge  there.” 

Mr  Chiu,  seeing  that  something  had  gone  wrong, 
knelt  down,  careless  of  his  silk  clothes  and  all  the  crowd 
of  onlookers,  and  said: 

“ O mother,  I do  not  know  what  may  have  dis- 
pleased you,  but  if  I have  offended  you  in  any  way, 
I ask  you  to  forgive  my  fault,”  but  his  mother  would 
not  answer  him  a word. 

Mr  Chiu,  finding  that  he  could  make  nothing  of  the 
old  lady,  sent  for  his  wife,  hoping  that  she  might  per- 
suade her  to  leave  the  chair  and  go  into  the  Yamen. 
By  this  time  the  court  was  full  of  people  who  had 
gathered  to  see  what  was  going  on.  Her  Excellency, 
young  Mrs  Chiu,  came  out  in  her  long  robes  and  satin 
shoes,  and  kneeling  down  upon  the  stone  pavement, 
besought  Mrs  Chiu,  saying: 

“ What  is  wrong  with  you,  mother?  We  do  not 
know  why  you  are  so  angry  with  us.  Please  tell  your 
daughter  what  is  the  matter,  and  why  you  will  not 
come  into  the  house.” 

“ There  can  be  no  such  happiness  for  me,”  said  the 
old  lady  shortly,  and  then  she  said  no  more.  Young 
Mrs  Chiu’s  tears  fell  freely  and  she  began  again  to  be- 
seech her  mother-in-law  to  forgive  whatever  might  have 


76 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


offended  her,  and  not  to  shame  her  son  in  the  eyes  of 
his  friends  and  neighbours. 

On  this  the  angry  dame  left  her  chair  and  walked 
into  the  midst  of  the  guests  and  the  crowd  of  onlookers. 
Then  she  stamped  one  of  her  large  feet  upon  the  stones 
and  turning  to  her  son  said: 

“ Your  father  did  not  find  fault  with  my  feet,  who 
are  you  to  be  ashamed  of  them?  My  heart  is  right, 
therefore  Heaven  has  given  me  good  fortune;  looks 
do  not  matter.”  His  Excellency  bore  her  anger  with 
grace  and  patience,  and  when  she  had  said  all  she 
wished  to  say,  at  last  was  able  to  persuade  her  to  enter 
the  Yamen. 

It  would  be  a mistake  to  think  that  old  Mrs  Chiu 
would  not  go  into  her  son's  house  only  because  she 
was  angry.  The  Chinese  despise  the  man  who  is 
ashamed  of  his  parents  or  poor  relations.  The  old 
woman’s  big  feet  showed  that  she  had  been  of  the 
working  class.  She  acted  as  she  did,  not  from  ob- 
stinacy or  temper,  but  because  she  wished  that  neither 
she  herself  nor  her  distinguished  son  should  be  ashamed 
of  their  humble  beginnings. 

The  honour  paid  by  children  to  their  parents,  such 
as  this  story  tells  of,  has  kept  the  better  heart  of  China 
alive  amid  much  evil,  and  has  made  her  people  more 
ready  to  join  in  the  worship  of  our  Father  which  is  in 
Heaven. 


CHAPTER  XII 

FAITHFULNESS 


Faithfulness  is  another  of  those  things  we  admire, 
that  are  taught  to  Chinese  boys  and  girls  too.  Many 


FAITHFULNESS  77 

are  the  stories  told  to  make  the  children  honour 
faithful  men  and  wish  to  be  like  them. 

One  of  these  tells  of  Luh  Sin  Fu,  in  the  time  of  the 
Sung  Dynasty.  This  faithful  servant  of  his  country, 
after  refusing  to  be  bought  over  by  the  Mongols  who 
were  then  at  war  with  China,  was  defeated  in  a sea- 
fight  near  Canton.  His  ships  were  scattered,  and  seeing 
that  the  hopes  of  the  Sung  rulers  were  lost,  he  took 
the  baby  heir  of  the  throne  and  jumping  overboard 
perished  with  him  in  the  waves. 

Chinese  children  are  often  reminded  to  be  faithful 
by  the  books  which  they  read  at  school:  " Hold 

faithfulness  and  sincerity  as  first  principles.”  “ Daily 
I examine  myself  in  regard  to  three  things,  whether 
in  doing  business  for  others  I may  have  been  un- 
faithful, whether  I may  have  been  insincere  with  my 
friends,  whether  I may  not  have  laid  to  heart  the 
teachings  of  my  master;  ” and  such  lessons  are  made 
clear  to  their  minds  by  the  example  of  men  and 
women  praised  for  faithfulness  in  every  district  of  the 
land. 

A legend  is  told  in  Chinchew  city  of  a family  which 
became  famous  in  the  time  of  the  Ming  Emperors, 
through  the  faithfulness  of  one  of  its  ancestors.  This 
man,  a Mr  So,  kept  a wine-shop  in  East  Street,  not  far 
from  the  magistrate’s  Yamen.  He  was  an  honest 
citizen,  who  went  about  his  business  in  a quiet,  steady 
way.  Among  his  customers  was  a middle-aged  man, 
who  used  to  go  once  a day  to  the  shop  to  have  his 
earthenware  bottle  filled  with  wine. 

One  day  this  regular  customer  brought  a bundle, 
which  he  asked  Mr  So  to  keep  for  him,  until  he  should 
call  for  it.  Mr  So  willingly  took  the  bundle,  promising 
to  take  good  care  of  it.  From  that  moment  the  man 
came  no  more  to  Mr  So’s  shop.  Days  passed  into 


78 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


months,  months  became  years,  and  the  familiar  cus- 
tomer with  his  brown  bottle  was  forgotten. 

The  incident  of  the  bundle  had  passed  out  of 
memory  when  one  day  an  old  man  entered  the  wine- 
shop and  cast  his  eyes  round  the  place. 

“ Are  you  Mr  So?  ” he  asked  the  owner. 

“ That  is  my  unworthy  name,  venerable  grand- 
uncle/’ said  Mr  So.  “ What  may  I do  for  you?  ” 

“ Please  give  me  the  bundle  which  I left  with  you 
some  time  ago,”  said  the  stranger. 

“ The  bundle!  I do  not  remember  your  giving  me 
a bundle.  When  did  you  leave  it  here?  ” 

Mr  So  started  when  the  stranger  mentioned  a date 
years  before,  and  turned  to  question  his  men,  none  of 
whom  could  remember  the  old  man  or  his  bundle. 

The  stranger  pressed  Mr  So  to  have  the  shop  care- 
fully searched,  saying  that  the  package  which  he  had 
left  for  safe  keeping  had  some  slips  of  gold  inside  it, 
and  it  would  be  a terrible  loss  to  him  if  they  could  not 
find  it. 

“ We  know  nothing  about  the  bundle,  or  what  was 
in  it,  venerable  grand-uncle,  but  if  you  left  it  here,  you 
shall  certainly  have  it  back  again,”  said  Mr  So. 

After  diligent  search  the  bundle  was  found  upon  a 
shelf  in  the  strong  room  at  the  back  of  the  shop. 

The  old  man’s  eyes  glittered  as  he  undid  the 
fastenings  of  the  bundle,  now  black  with  dust  and  cob- 
webs. Carefully  he  turned  over  the  things  inside  it, 
laying  them  one  by  one  upon  the  counter.  There  was 
a clatter  and  fall  of  metal.  " The  gold  is  here  safe 
enough,”  said  the  stranger,  taking  up  the  dull  yellow 
slips  with  his  thin  fingers.  “ One,  two,  three,”  he 
numbered  slowly,  “ four,  five,  six,”  counting  until  the 
full  tale  was  reached.  The  old  man  put  back  the  gold, 
and  did  up  his  bundle  in  silence.  Then  he  lifted  his  head. 


FAITHFULNESS 


79 


“ You  are  an  honest  man,  Mr  So/’  said  he.  “ You 
have  indeed  been  faithful  in  the  trust  which  I com- 
mitted to  you  so  long  ago.” 

“ What  have  I done  ? ” answered  Mr  So.  “ The 
bundle  has  lain  just  as  you  left  it,”  and  with  that  he 
bowed  low. 

The  old  man  waited.  Then  he  spoke  again. 

“ I have  some  skill  in  finding  such  spots  as  will 
bring  good  fortune  to  the  children  of  those  who  are 
buried  in  them,”  said  he.  “ You  have  kept  my  gold 
faithfully.  I wish  to  make  you  some  return  for  your 
kindness,  and  happily  it  is  in  my  power  to  do  so. 
Listen!  there  is  a place  outside  the  East  Gate  of  the 
city,  so  fortunate  that  if  you  were  to  buy  it  and  use  it 
for  your  grave,  your  descendants  afterwards  would 
surely  prosper  in  the  world.” 

Mr  So,  who  was  no  less  superstitious  than  his 
neighbours,  bought  the  ground,  and  when  he  died  was 
buried  in  the  lucky  spot.  The  family  prospered  and  in 
course  of  time  one  of  his  descendants  became  an  official, 
so  high  in  favour  with  the  Emperor  Ban-lek,  that  he 
gave  him  his  sister  to  be  his  wife,  and  a * five-storied 
pavilion  ' for  her  to  live  in.  Mr  So’s  heirs  continued 
to  prosper,  and  some  of  them  still  live  in  the  old  home 
within  the  city.  But  we  know  that  the  family  rose 
in  the  world,  not  because  of  the  grave,  which  the  old 
man  thought  so  lucky,  but  through  the  blessing  which 
follows  upon  doing  what  is  right  and  honest. 

Much  as  the  Chinese  praise  faithfulness,  the  old 
men  shake  their  heads  and  tell  their  children  that 
people  bom  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Hien-fung 
were  more  honest  than  those  born  during  these  last 
forty  years,  and  those  born  earlier  still,  in  the  days 
of  Tau-kwang,  were  still  more  faithful.  It  is  the 
usual  story,  “ the  old  days  were  better  than  the  new,” 


80 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 

but  the  very  sense  of  failure  makes  the  people,  young 
and  old,  more  ready  to  welcome  that  Saviour,  who 
alone  can  help  men  to  be  faithful  and  upright  and  true 
and  good. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  CRY  OF  THE  CHILDREN 

From  what  you  have  read,  you  will  think,  perhaps, 
that  Chinese  children  have  a merry  life,  but  it  is  not 
always  so.  Little  girls,  who  were  unwelcome  to  their 
families,  used  to  be  laid  in  the  tiger’s  track  or  among 
woods  to  die.  Some  were  choked  immediately  they 
were  bom,  or  drowned  in  a bucket.  In  many  cities 
of  the  Empire  kind-hearted  people  have  provided 
places,  where  such  little  outcast  waifs  are  nursed  and 
tended;  for  the  practice  of  doing  away  with  children 
was  always  against  the  law  of  the  land,  although  the 
popular  proverb  said:  “ Destroy  a girl  and  you  hasten 
the  birth  of  a boy.”  Last  year  a Christian,  after  his 
conscience  had  been  awakened,  confessed  that  years 
before,  while  still  a heathen,  he  had  strangled  a baby 
daughter,  and  put  the  little  body  into  the  mud  of  one 
of  his  rice  fields. 

Of  late  years,  in  many  parts  of  China,  the  practice 
of  putting  girl  babies  to  death  has  almost  entirely 
ceased,  partly,  no  doubt,  because  girls  are  scarce,  and 
their  value  has  risen  accordingly;  in  some  places  as 
much  as  six  hundred  dollars  being  given  by  ordinary 
people  for  a wife. 

Then  there  are  many  things  which  bring  trouble 
upon  children  and  their  homes.  When  rain  does  not 


THE  CRY  OF  THE  CHILDREN  81 


fall  for  several  weeks,  there  is  little  food  for  boys  and 
girls  to  eat.  So  long  as  rivers  and  wells  hold  out,  the 
farmers,  by  working  hard,  can  water  their  fields. 
When  the  streams  dry  up,  they  dig  holes  in  the  sand 
of  the  river-beds  and  carry  the  water,  which  collects 
in  them,  to  keep  the  crops  alive.  All  the  family  in  turns 
tread  the  water-wheel,  which  raises  water  out  of  such 
holes  or  channels,  tramp,  tramp,  they  toil  unceasingly 
until  their  skins  are  burnt  dark  brown  and  the  bones 
show  through.  If  rain  still  does  not  come,  their  labour 
is  lost,  the  crops  dry  up  and  the  poor  little  children  as 
well  as  their  fathers  and  mothers  have  no  food  to  eat, 
so  that  many  of  them  die  of  hunger. 

Sometimes  there  is  too  much  rain : the  rivers  over- 
flow, the  grain  is  spoilt  in  the  fields,  pigs,  goats  and 
cows  are  swept  away.  The  water  rises.  People  climb 
on  to  the  roofs  of  their  houses,  carrying  clothes  and  the 
few  things  they  hope  to  save  from  the  flood.  They 
crouch  on  the  tiles,  with  their  babies  and  little  children, 
under  the  pitiless  rain.  Kind  people,  whose  houses, 
being  on  higher  ground,  have  not  been  deluged,  go  out 
in  boats  carrying  food  to  them,  for  often  they  have  had 
nothing  to  eat  for  several  days.  The  flood  rises  still 
higher,  in  places  it  breaks  the  banks  of  great  rivers, 
houses,  temples,  city  walls  and  whole  villages  are  swept 
away  by  the  swift  brown  water,  and  thousands  of 
men,  women  and  children  perish.  Often,  too,  fires 
break  out  in  crowded  villages  and  towns.  The  flames 
spout  from  the  windows,  and  showers  of  sparks  fly 
into  the  sky  when  roofs  fall  in.  If  a wind  happens  to 
be  blowing,  a whole  street  of  shops  and  houses  is  burnt 
down  in  no  time.  The  people  flee  with  their  children 
and  whatever  they  can  save  from  their  homes.  The 
poor  little  babies  and  boys  and  girls  fare  badly  indeed, 
when  such  trouble  turns  them  out  of  doors.  In  parts 

F 


82 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


of  China,  plague  comes  every  year  and  carries  off  hun- 
dreds of  people,  leaving  many  little  children  with  no 
one  to  care  for  them.  In  the  south  of  the  Empire,  too, 
the  people  are  constantly  having  clan-fights  between 
families  or  villages ; often  fathers  or  brothers  are  killed, 
and  then  there  are  lawsuits,  which  ruin  many  a family. 
All  these  causes  bring  distress  and  suffering  upon 
Chinese  boys  and  girls,  such  as  are  seldom  met  with  in 
Western  homes.  But  most  of  the  trouble  which  falls 
upon  children  in  China  to-day  comes  from  poverty. 
Grinding  poverty  leads  to  hunger  and  starvation. 
Often  children  must  work  as  soon  as  they  can  toddle. 
When  they  are  two  or  three  they  must  look  after  the 
baby  brother  or  sister,  while  the  mother  is  away  work- 
ing in  the  fields.  The  baby  is  strapped  on  the  toddler’s 
back,  and  he  or  she  must  stagger  about  with  it  for 
hours,  however  weary  the  little  limbs  may  be.  Or  the 
tiny  boy  or  girl  must  go  out  with  a small  bamboo  rake 
and  fill  a basket  with  leaves  and  grass  to  burn.  In  the 
country,  quite  small  children  must  carry  loads,  and  in 
the  city  baby  workers  toil  at  trades,  till  the  anxieties 
of  life  have  made  them  look  old  and  wrinkled  before 
they  are  ten  years  of  age.  One  boy  of  ten  used  to 
work  from  morning  till  night  in  Chinchew  city  making 
clay  furnaces.  He  was  stunted,  and  his  face  was  grey 
and  pinched,  but  he  helped  his  widowed  mother  to  get 
a living.  When  people  are  very  poor,  two  neighbours 
will  exchange  baby  girls  very  soon  after  they  are  bom, 
or  a mother  will  sell  her  little  baby  girl  for  two  or  three 
dollars  to  another  woman.  The  baby  is  then  brought 
up  by  this  foster-mother  to  be  a little  servant  until  old 
enough  to  marry  her  son,  and  so  she  gets  a servant, 
and  then  a wife  for  her  son  very  cheap.  But  this 
custom  leads  to  much  misery  and  unhappiness  for  these 
* baby  daughters-in-law/  as  they  are  called.  They 


THE  CRY  OF  THE  CHILDREN  83 


are  usually  treated  as  the  family  drudges  and  never 
know  any  childhood  or  parents’  care;  they  have  to 
work  hard,  and  too  often  live  a loveless,  sad  life. 

The  saddest  thing  of  all,  is  when  small  girls  are  sold 
to  be  slaves.  In  places  where  food  is  dear  and  money 
is  scarce,  fathers  and  mothers  are  driven  to  part  with 
their  children.  In  certain  districts,  towards  the  end 
of  the  year,  when  debts  have  to  be  paid,  they  may  be 
seen  carrying  their  little  boys  and  girls  slung  in  baskets 
to  sell.  A nurse  in  the  home  of  a foreign  lady  used  to 
tell  how  she  had  had  to  let  eight  children  go  in  this 
way.  Her  husband  was  poor  and  when  there  was  no 
food  to  give  them,  she  had  to  sell  one  of  the  children 
rather  than  see  them  all  starve  together  at  home.  One 
of  the  boys  had  been  bought  by  a rich  family  in  the 
village,  so  she  could  see  him  sometimes,  but  of  course 
he  was  not  her  own  little  boy  any  more.  When  her 
husband  died,  the  poor  woman  had  to  let  the  remaining 
children  go,  one  by  one,  for  she  had  no  food  to  give 
them.  The  last  little  boy  she  gave  to  some  strolling 
players  for  thirty  dollars,  to  be  a little  actor.  When 
asked  how  she  could  sell  a child  to  such  a terrible  life 
as  these  little  actor-boys  lead,  the  mother  said,  “ Oh, 
after  ten  years  he  will  be  too  big  to  act,  and  then  I 
shall  get  him  back  again,  and  he  has  promised  to  be  a 
good  boy.”  The  child  had  his  yearly  holiday  on  New 
Year’s  Day,  and  his  half-starved  mother  would  save 
up  enough  cash  to  buy  a chicken  to  fatten  for  the  occa- 
sion. When  her  boy  came  home  she  killed  the  chicken, 
and  she  and  he  had  a feast  on  their  one  happy  day 
together. 

Sometimes  slave  children  are  well  and  kindly  treated, 
but  in  China,  as  in  other  lands,  slavery  too  surely 
leads  to  cruelty  and  suffering.  The  notices  of  slave 
girls  lost,  stolen  or  strayed,  posted  up  on  the  gates 


84 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


of  Chinese  cities,  shows  that  many  of  these  little  girls 
are  unhappy  in  their  masters’  houses,  and  easily  per- 
suaded to  run  away.  Sad  cases  are  brought  to  the 
hospitals,  too,  of  slave  children  so  wasted  by  neglect 
and  starvation  that  the  poor  things  are  little  more  than 
skeletons.  An  old  woman  named  Ch'uan  Kua  used  to 
tell  how  her  little  girl,  whom  she  had  sold  into  a 
Viceroy’s  family,  was  unkindly  treated.  One  day  the 
poor  child  did  something  to  offend  her  mistress,  and 
the.  angry  lady  stabbed  her  to  death,  with  one  of  her 
long  hairpins. 

Another  cause  of  unhappiness  to  the  little  ones 
is  the  practice  of  opium  smoking.  When  the  father,  or 
mother,  or  other  wage-earner  of  the  home,  smokes 
opium,  there  is  little  for  the  children  to  eat.  In  time, 
some  of  the  wretched  slaves  to  opium  sell  house  and 
land,  furniture  and  clothes,  wife  and  children,  in  order  to 
get  money  for  the  terrible  self-indulgence. 

The  following  story  gives  some  idea  of  what  a little 
girl,  named  Phoenix,  had  to  suffer  from  a father  who 
was  an  opium-eater.  The  story  is  doubly  interesting 
because  it  is  told  by  herself. 

“ It  would  be  very  difficult  to  relate  fully  what  I 
have  passed  through  from  my  childhood  until  the 
present.  I will  only  tell  some  of  the  principal 
events. 

“ When  I was  three  years  old  my  mother  died. 
My  grandfather  cared  for  me  until  I was  six,  and  then 
he  also  left  this  world.  I had  no  one  to  care  for  me, 
and  my  father  brought  me  to  Amoy  and  sold  me  to 
Mrs  No-te,  who  lived  near  the  Bamboo-tree-foot  church. 
From  that  time  I had  opportunities  of  hearing  the 
Gospel,  but  could  not  go  to  school,  as  I was  kept  busy 
with  house-work.  When  I was  fifteen  the  Lord  received 
me  into  His  church,  and  I was  baptised.” 


I'IMKNIX 


THE  CRY  OF  THE  CHILDREN  85 


Phoenix  does  not  mention  that  the  woman  who 
bought  her  broke  the  agreement  made  with  the  child’s 
father,  that  she  should  in  time  become  the  wife 
of  her  son.  The  father,  a wretched  opium  sot,  made 
this  an  excuse  for  claiming  the  return  of  the  girl,  in 
order  to  sell  her  over  again  for  more  money. 

“ When  I was  sixteen  years  old  my  father  de- 
manded me  back,  and  at  that  time  my  heart  was  very 
sorrowful.  I was  afraid  he  would  not  let  me  go  to 
church.  I took  this  trouble  to  the  Lord,  and  Our  Lord 
truly  heard  the  prayer  of  His  child.  He  also  gave  me 
the  desire  of  my  heart  and  let  me  go  to  the  Girls’ 
Boarding-school,  to  study  and  know  more  about  the 
Bible.  If  it  had  not  been  for  this,  I would  have  been 
like  a person  blind.  It  was  arranged  through  the 
earnestness  and  love  of  my  pastor,  who  told  my 
father  that  I belonged  to  the  church,  and  that  he  must 
certainly  put  me  to  school.  This  he  did  and  let  me 
be  in  school  for  about  one  year,  and  then  he  came  for 
me  and  I had  to  go  with  him,  and  I was  very  sad. 

“ My  father  soon  took  me  to  Tung  An,  and  all  the 
time  I was  there  I could  only  manage  to  go  to  church 
once.  . . . 

“ Someone  told  my  father  that  I had  been  to  church 
and  he  was  very  angry,  and  told  me  to  take  salt  and 
salt  down  my  heart,  to  make  dead  my  heart.  He 
said  he  certainly  would  not  let  me  go  to  church,  and 
told  others  that  they  must  not  let  me  go.  He  also 
said  that  if  I had  any  communication  with  the  lady 
missionary  he  would  throw  me  down  stairs  and  kill  me. 
But  the  Lord  was  always  with  me  and  delivered  me 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  lion. 

“ Afterwards  my  father  brought  me  to  Amoy  to  my 
uncle’s  house.  Two-thirds  of  the  family  are  vege- 
tarians, and  early  and  late  they  burn  incense  and 


86  CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 

candles  to  the  idols.  My  heart  was  miserable  in  the 
extreme. 

“ My  father  tried  to  sell  me  to  be  the  second  wife 
of  a rich  man,  who  was  willing  to  give  nearly  three 
hundred  dollars  for  me.  He  said: 

Your  old  friend,  the  Bible- woman  and  the 
Christians  will  do  nothing  for  you,  you  might  as  well 
make  up  your  mind  to  it.  The  Bible-woman  says  there 
is  no  use  trying  to  do  anything  more  for  you,  that  no 
Christian  will  marry  you  now.’ 

“ I felt  that  he  was  telling  me  a lie,  but  I could  not 
know  if  the  Bible-woman,  who  had  always  been  so 
good  to  me,  had  really  said  that  or  not,  and  I was  very 
unhappy.  My  father  kept  urging  me  to  agree  to 
being  sold  to  the  rich  heathen  man,  so  that  he  might 
have  the  money  to  use.  He  was  very  angry  with  me 
because  I was  so  strongly  opposed.  I said,  * I have 
made  a covenant  with  the  Lord,  which  I cannot  break, 
I am  His.’ 

“ One  day  a sister  of  a Christian  came  to  speak  to 
my  uncle,  and  someone  said  to  me,  * That  person  is  a 
follower  of  the  Gospel  like  you  and  lives  at  Bamboo- 
tree-foot.  ’ I said,  ‘ Is  that  true?  ’ After  this  I found 
that  she  knew  one  of  my  classmates,  who  lives  at 
Bamboo-tree-foot,  and  through  her  I secretly  sent  a 
letter  to  my  classmate,  asking  her  to  tell  the  pastor’s 
wife  where  I was.  The  letter  was  delayed  several 
days,  and  before  it  was  delivered  one  day  I saw 
three  Christians  passing  the  house  with  Bibles  in  their 
hands,  on  their  way  to  church,  and  so  I knew  that  it 
was  Sunday — I had  lost  count  of  Sundays — and  I called 
to  them.  My  father  was  out,  or  I should  not  have 
dared  to  speak  to  them.  They  were  pleased  to  find 
me.  They  told  the  Bible-woman,  and  through  them 
and  my  letter  in  a week’s  time  the  pastor’s  wife  and 


MINISTERING  CHILDREN 


87 


the  Bible-woman  both  came  to  see  me.  I found  out 
that  what  my  father  had  said  about  the  Bible-woman 
was  not  true,  and  they  both  comforted  my  heart. 

“ After  this,  I dreamed  I had  fallen  into  a ditch  up 
to  my  neck,  and  someone  pulled  me  out ; that  I went 
to  school  again,  and  was  writing  on  my  slate,  and  I 
thought : This  means  that  God  is  going  to  open  the  way 
for  me.  In  six  more  days,  beyond  all  my  hopes,  God’s 
great  goodness  was  manifested,  and  I truly  jumped  for 
joy,  when  I was  told  that  my  father’s  consent  was 

gained,  and  Miss  had  redeemed  me  for  two 

hundred  dollars,  and  that  I was  to  go  back  again  to 
school. 

“ In  two  days  the  pastor  came  for  me  and  brought 
me  to  school.  This  truly  manifests  the  love  of  God 

for  sinful  me,  and  also  the  love  of  Miss in  that  she 

gave  money  to  save  me.  During  the  time  of  trial  the 
Lord  always  helped  me,  and  now  He  has  brought  me 
to  this  place,  free  from  all  fear.  Love  like  this  is  truly 
great.” 

Phoenix  has  since  become  engaged  to  a young 
theological  student  and  will  probably  be  married 
within  a year. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MINISTERING  CHILDREN 

In  1898  a boy  named  Ch‘en  Yo,  generally  known  as 
Yo-ah,  lived  near  the  West  gate  of  Chinchew  city.  His 
father,  who  was  called  Poah,  used  to  sit  by  the  road- 
side gambling  with  the  passers-by.  The  boy  went  with 
him,  and  sometimes  when  his  father  lost  a game,  would 
have  a turn  at  the  board  and  win  some  money. 


88 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


When  Yo-ah  was  thirteen  years  old,  his  father  first 
heard  about  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  and  began  to 
go  to  church,  near  the  great  western  pagoda  in  the 
city.  Strangely  enough,  Yo-ah,  who  had  gone  will- 
ingly enough  to  gamble,  would  not  follow  his  father  to 
church.  For  six  months  Poah  went  to  the  * worship 
hall  ’ alone,  then  he  told  his  son  that  he  must  join  him. 
Yo-ah  did  not  wish  people  to  know  that  he  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  f Barbarian  church/  so  when 
out  of  obedience  to  his  father  he  went  to  service,  he 
used  to  creep  through  round-about  lanes  and  side 
streets,  in  the  hope  that  none  of  his  friends  would  meet 
him  on  the  way. 

After  a time  Yo-ah  went  to  school,  though  he  was 
most  unwilling  to  do  so,  thinking  that  gambling  was 
better  fun  than  poring  over  books.  Seeing  how  idle 
he  was,  his  father  said  to  him  one  day : 

“ If  you  don’t  mean  to  study  you  had  better  go 
away,  for  I will  not  take  care  of  you  any  longer.” 

Seeing  that  his  father  meant  what  he  said,  Yo-ah 
made  up  his  mind  to  do  better,  and  set  about  his  work 
with  a will.  Not  only  did  his  lessons  improve;  in  a 
short  time  his  temper  grew  better,  and  he  gave  up  using 
naughty  words  and  telling  lies.  The  secret  of  this 
wonderful  change  was  that  at  school  Yo-ah  had  learnt 
to  know  the  Saviour. 

The  neighbours,  who  did  not  understand  about 
worshipping  God,  noticed  that  Yo-ah  had  given  up  his 
rude  ways,  and  did  not  answer  back  as  he  had  done 
before  he  went  to  school.  One  of  them,  a widow  who 
had  an  only  son  named  Wu-mei,  was  very  much  struck 
by  the  change  in  him.  Her  son  had  been  called 
Wu-mei,  that  is,  Black  Little  Sister,  to  deceive  the 
evil  spirits  into  thinking  that  he  was  an  ugly  little  girl, 
not  worth  troubling  about,  in  the  hope  that  they  would 


If 


SUNDAY  SCHOOL,  CHINCHKVV 


MINISTERING  CHILDREN 


89 


let  him  grow  up  to  manhood  in  peace.  His  mother, 
seeing  how  much  Yo-ah  had  improved  by  study,  sent 
Black  Little  Sister  to  the  same  school. 

The  new  scholar  read  diligently,  and  soon  began  to 
drink  in  the  story  of  the  Gospel.  Three  or  four  months 
after  he  entered  school  a bad  illness,  called  plague, 
broke  out  and  many  people  died,  both  inside  and 
outside  the  city.  Black  Little  Sister  sickened  one  day 
and  had  to  be  carried  home  in  a chair,  slung  on  two 
long  bamboo  poles. 

His  teacher,  who  wanted  all  the  children  he  taught 
to  know  the  Lord  Jesus,  was  troubled  about  him,  for 
he  saw  that  he  was  very  ill,  and  he  did  not  know 
whether  Black  Little  Sister  had  learnt  to  trust  the 
Saviour  or  not.  Just  as  he  was  starting  off  to  go  to 
the  boy’s  house,  Yo-ah’s  father  came  into  the  school- 
room and  said: 

“ You  need  not  go,  teacher;  Black  Little  Sister’s 
mother  has  filled  the  house  with  idols,  and  he  is 
delirious.  Even  if  his  people  allowed  you  to  enter  his 
room,  he  would  not  understand  what  you  said  to  him.” 

The  teacher  was  very  sorry  when  he  heard  what 
Poah  said,  for  he  saw  that  it  would  be  useless  to  go 
to  see  his  little  friend. 

Very  early  next  morning  Yo-ah’s  father  came 
again  with  news  of  Black  Little  Sister,  and  best  of  all, 
he  told  the  teacher  that  the  dying  boy  believed  in  our 
Lord  Jesus  as  his  own  true  Saviour. 

“ Last  night,”  said  he,  “ when  everyone  could  see 
that  Black  Little  Sister  was  very  ill  and  must  surely 
die,  his  relations  turned  all  the  idols  out  of  the  house. 
Then  I went  in  to  see  him.  When  I entered  his  room, 
I said,  ‘ Black  Little  Sister,  people  say  that  you  have 
lost  your  senses.  Is  it  true?  ’ ” 

“ * No,  brother  Poah,’  he  answered,  ' these  heathen, 


90 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


who  do  not  understand  what  I am  doing,  think 
that  I am  out  of  my  senses,  because  they  see  me 
constantly  getting  up  and  kneeling  upon  the  bed  to 
pray/  ” 

Seeing  that  the  boy  was  able  to  talk  quite  sensibly, 
Poah  brought  another  Christian,  a man  called  Ah  Lin, 
to  come  and  see  him. 

“ Shall  I read  some  verses  from  the  Bible  to  you?  ” 
asked  Ah  Lin,  sitting  down  by  the  bedside. 

“ Yes,  I should  like  you  to  read  some  very  much,” 
answered  the  dying  boy. 

Ah  Lin  opened  his  New  Testament  and  began 
reading  from  the  third  chapter  of  St  John’s  Gospel. 
When  he  reached  the  fifteenth  verse  he  stopped. 

“ Black  Little  Sister,”  he  said,  “ do  you  know  the 
next  verse?  ” It  had  been  the  golden  text,  repeated  by 
the  children  at  the  Bible  service  on  the  previous 
Sunday. 

“ God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him, 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.”  The 
poor  dried  lips  slowly  repeated  the  precious  words  to 
the  end. 

Then  Poah  and  Ah  Lin  prayed.  When  they  had 
finished  Black  Little  Sister  put  his  hands  together  and 
said:  “ Thank  you,  God,  so  much  for  giving  your 
only  born  son,  that  I,  a sinful  one,  believing  on  Him, 
might  have  everlasting  life.”  Then  the  room  was  very 
quiet,  for  the  boy  was  tired  and  neither  Poah  nor  Ah 
Lin  could  speak  a word. 

Soon  after  this  the  fever  died  out  of  Black  Little 
Sister’s  face  and  eyes.  The  fight  was  over.  He  had 
left  the  narrow  room  and  its  useless  idols,  and  gone  to 
the  home  of  love  and  everlasting  life. 

Whilst  Poah  told  the  story  to  the  good  teacher,  he 


MINISTERING  CHILDREN  91 

cried  for  joy  and  sorrow,  until  the  tears  ran  down  his 
cheeks. 

In  the  fourth  moon  of  the  next  year,  the  plague 
came  to  the  city  once  more.  On  the  15th,  Yo-ah  was 
taken  ill  after  morning  school.  When  his  minister 
went  to  see  him,  he  said : 

“ Please  do  not  say  anything  to  my  father  about 
my  sickness,  for  I am  the  last  of  six  brothers,  and  if 
he  were  to  hear  that  I was  ill,  he  would  be  so  sorry.” 

But  the  minister  of  course  felt  he  must  send  for 
the  father  as  quickly  as  possible. 

When  Poah  reached  the  school  he  found  Yo-ah 
sitting  in  bed  reading  his  Bible.  He  seemed  bright 
enough,  and  had  just  finished  doing  up  accounts 
for  one  of  the  Christians,  who  had  been  out  selling 
fish. 

" What  is  wrong  with  you,  Yo-ah?  ” asked  his 
father. 

" I have  only  got  a small  lump  above  my  leg, 
which  pains  me  a little,  father.” 

The  doctor  came  presently  and  gave  the  boy  some 
medicine,  but  the  medicine  did  not  seem  to  have  much 
effect. 

That  evening  Yo-ah  felt  poorly.  “ If  the  fever 
does  not  go  down  to-night  I will  certainly  be  in  Heaven 
to-morrow,  father,”  said  Yo-ah. 

Next  morning  Yo-ah  looked  so  much  better  that 
Poah  was  very  glad  and  exclaimed  to  one  of  his 
friends,  “ I took  a straw  rope  for  a serpent  this  time,” 
meaning  that  he  had  been  frightened  by  his  boy’s 
illness  when  there  was  no  reason  to  be  afraid. 

During  the  day  one  of  the  schoolboys,  a great 
friend  of  Yo-ah’s,  went  to  see  him.  The  sick  lad  was 
very  glad  to  see  him,  and  said:  “ Ah!  So-and-so,  you 
will  go  on  to  the  middle  school  by-and-by.  After- 


92  CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 

wards  you  must  give  yourself  to  God’s  service  and  work 
for  Him/' 

“ You,  too,  must  work  for  God,  Yo-ah,”  answered 
his  friend. 

" The  Lord  is  not  going  to  leave  me  long  in  this 
world,”  said  Yo-ah. 

After  this  he  begged  one  of  his  uncles  to  believe 
in  Christ  and  find  safety  in  Him.  He  also  spoke  to 
several  of  his  friends  asking  them  to  give  up  things 
which  they  knew  to  be  wrong  in  their  lives.  To  one, 
who  was  careless  about  money,  he  said,  “ Brother  Lin, 
you  ought  to  live  more  sparingly.  How  can  you  glorify 
God  when  you  are  constantly  in  debt  and  people  have 
to  dun  you  for  money  at  the  end  of  the  year?  ” 

His  father,  seeing  that  though  Yo-ah  looked  better, 
he  acted  like  one  about  to  leave  this  world,  said  to 
him: 

“ If  you  die,  I will  go  and  hang  myself.” 

“ Daddy,  if  you  do  what  Judas  did,  then  after  my 
death,  we  two,  father  and  son,  will  never  see  each  other 
any  more.  You  must  live  for  God  and  tell  people  His 
truth  with  all  your  might  when  I am  gone.” 

After  this  he  spoke  much  with  his  father,  asking 
him  to  be  faithful  to  Christ.  When  noon  came  he 
stopped  talking,  saying,  “Now  all  is  finished.” 

His  poor  father  was  very  sorry  and  tried  to  speak 
to  him,  but  all  that  Yo-ah  would  say  after  this  was 
“ Submit,  gladly  submit,”  repeating  the  words  over 
and  over  again,  meaning  that  his  father  ought  to  be 
willing  to  let  him  go  if  God  took  him. 

By  seven  o’clock  that  evening  Yo-ah  was  restless, 
throwing  himself  from  one  side  of  the  bed  to  the  other. 
His  father  sat  by,  trying  to  soothe  and  quiet  him,  and 
as  he  watched  through  the  dragging  minutes  he  cried  to 
God,  for  he  wras  not  willing  that  his  only  son  should  die. 


MINISTERING  CHILDREN 


93* 


The  bell  rang  for  evening  prayer  in  the  church,  next 
door  to  the  school.  The  poor  man  in  his  sore  trouble 
wished  to  go  to  the  service,  but  dared  not  leave  the 
sick-room,  fearing  that  Yo-ah  might  roll  from  the  bed 
and  fall  upon  the  ground. 

A change  passed  over  him  and  a new  calm  came 
into  his  heart.  He  fell  upon  his  knees  in  front  of  the 
bed  and  prayed: 

“ O,  God!  I submit  to  Thy  will.  I pray  Thee  to  let 
my  child  go  home  in  peace.” 

He  rose  from  the  ground.  The  restless  tossing  had 
stopped.  Yo-ah  was  lying  still  upon  the  bed.  After 
one  long  look  the  poor  father  went  into  the  church. 
The  service  was  nearly  over  when  he  entered  the  build- 
ing and  the  minister  was  just  saying,  ‘‘If  anyone  wishes 
to  lead  us  in  prayer,  let  him  do  so.”  Poah  began : 
“ 0 God,  I thank  Thee  for  having  given  me  this  son  to 
care  for  these  fifteen  years.  Now  Thou  hast  taken 
him  home  to  Thyself.  I gladly  submit  to  Thy  will. 
Only  please  help  me  to  remember,  and  to  do  all  that 
he  spoke  of  when  he  talked  to  me.” 

At  the  close  of  the  service  the  people  knew  that 
Y o-ah  had  * crossed  over  ’ to  the  better  land.  Some 
of  them  wished  to  try  to  comfort  his  father,  but  they 
were  all  so  grieved  for  him  that  no  one  could  find  a 
word  to  say.  Poah,  whose  face  was  very  calm,  began 
to  comfort  them  instead.  He  told  them  what  Yo-ah 
had  said,  and  asked  them  to  join  with  him  in  sub- 
mitting to  the  will  of  God. 

That  year  plague  raged  in  the  city  and  many 
people  died.  One  of  the  minister’s  sons,  a boy  of 
ten,  sickened  and  died  without  a word.  When  Poah 
heard  of  it  he  said:  “ God  has  indeed  been  merciful 
to  me.  If  my  boy  had  died  like  this  without 
comforting  me,  what  should  I have  done?  ” Yo-ah’s 


94 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


father,  who  now  seemed  to  live  only  for  the 
good  of  others,  went  everywhere  to  help  with  the 
sick  and  dying.  Next  year  he  became  an  elder  of  the 
church,  which  he  served  most  faithfully.  A year 
later,  the  plague  came  again,  and  joyfully  submitting 
to  God’s  will  he,  too,  went  home  to  be  with  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  CHILDREN’S  KING 

“The  Cross  is  tall, 

And  I too  small, 

To  reach  His  Hand 
Or  touch  His  Feet ; 

But  on  the  sand 

His  foot-prints  I have  found, 

And  it  is  sweet 
To  kiss  the  holy  ground.” 

Until  fifty  years  ago  China,  like  the  palace  of  the 
Sleeping  Beauty,  lay  under  a spell.  Idolatry,  love  of 
money  and  evil  customs,  like  the  thorns  and  briars  of 
the  famous  story,  had  overrun  the  land.  The  sacred 
names  of  God  and  Heaven,  vrere  almost  forgotten. 
What  wise  men  long  ago  had  taught  of  peace 
and  justice,  of  kindness  and  self-denial,  had  faded 
into  dreams.  The  joy  of  learning,  the  reverence  of 
father  and  mother,  and  the  love  of  little  children,  lay 
under  the  enchantment  of  the  Wicked  One.  Then  the 
Prince  came,  our  princely  Lord  Jesus,  and  China 
began  to  waken.  At  His  touch  the  old-world  knowledge 
of  God,  of  peace  and  justice,  of  kindness  and  self- 
denial,  stirred  in  the  people’s  hearts  and  prepared 
them  to  welcome  the  Gospel.  Then  history,  that  wise 


THE  CHILDREN’S  KING 


95 


old  story-teller,  began  to  repeat  herself.  The  Kingdom 
of  God,  when  once  founded  in  China,  like  the  nation 
itself  in  bygone  ages,  began  to  grow.  Its  conquests 
were  those  of  peace,  and  not  of  war.  Surrounded  by 
enemies,  it  drew  them  into  itself,  spreading  light  and 
love  as  it  widened  its  borders. 

Men  and  women  came  to  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  the  little  ones  learned  that  He  is  the 
children’s  King.  The  King  sent  forth  His  messengers 
into  every  province,  and,  most  wonderful  of  all, 
wherever  the  messengers  went,  the  King  went  too, 
and  whenever  their  message  entered  a human  heart, 
His  own  kiss  woke  it  to  love  and  joy. 

Churches  began  to  grow,  humble  enough  to  look  at, 
but  more  beautiful  in  God’s  sight  than  palaces  of  gold 
and  precious  stones.  Schools  were  built  all  over  the 
land,  and  Christian  homes  arose  in  many  a village  and 
town  and  great  city. 

You  would  love  to  see  the  children  gather  in  God’s 
house  on  the  Lord’s  Day  in  China.  Shaved  heads 
and  strange  clothes  would  catch  your  eyes  at  first, 
but  you  would  soon  be  attracted  by  the  earnest  faces 
and  intent  dark  eyes  of  some  of  the  little  ones  whose 
attention  had  been  caught  by  a story.  After  service 
you  would  see  them  gather  in  the  Sunday-school, 
and  perhaps  when  you  heard  them  repeat  their  texts, 
you  would  long  to  borrow  their  wonderful  memories 
for  your  own  use.  If  you  followed  the  little  boys  and 
girls  after  service,  you  would  find  that  the  children’s 
King  had  done  much  for  them  in  their  homes,  but  you 
would  need  to  live  with  them  for  a time,  to  discover 
how  great  the  change  from  the  old  heathen  ways  had 
really  been.  You  would  see,  if  you  lived  with  them 
long  enough,  that  the  girls  did  not  have  their  poor  little 
feet  pinched  and  bound.  The  babies  would  not  be 


96 


CHILDREN  OF  CHINA 


sent  away  or  sold,  unless  there  was  great  poverty,  and 
then  they  would  only  be  allowed  to  go  into  another 
Christian  family,  where  they  would  be  loved  and  cared 
for.  You  would  notice  that  the  harsh  words  and  sharp 
blows  which  heathen  children,  and  especially  little 
girls,  have  to  bear,  were  fewer.  There  would  be  more 
gentleness  and  loving  family  life,  less  quarrelling  and 
unkindness  among  the  inmates. 

When  the  family  gathered  for  dinner,  the  little  ones 
would  put  their  fat  fingers  over  their  eyes,  whilst  grace 
was  said.  In  the  evenings,  when  the  shadows  fell, 
no  stick  of  incense  would  be  burnt  in  the  guest-room, 
nor  stuck  in  the  paper  lantern  outside  the  door,  but, 
a little  later,  hymn-books  would  be  brought  and  the 
family  would  have  prayers  before  going  to  bed. 
When  you  went  into  their  room  and  sat  on  the  edge  of 
the  children’s  bed,  and  got  the  little  ones  to  nestle 
close  up  to  you,  they  would  whisper,  if  you  asked 
them  in  the  right  way,  that  they  loved  Jesus. 

Chinese  boys  and  girls  learn  to  love  Jesus,  that  is 
the  proof  that  Christ  is  the  children’s  King,  that  the 
Prince  Himself  has  kissed  them  and  wakened  them 
out  of  sin.  And,  if  you  turn  back  to  the  story  of 
Yo-ah  and  Black  Little  Sister,  you  will  see  that  when 
He  calls  them  home  to  Himself,  they  lovingly  go  to  be 
with  Him. 


FINIS 


DS725  .B87 
Children  of  China ... 


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